Not All Dark Witches are Death Eaters 3
by Ryua Malfoy
Summary: It's not easy being the child of a Death Eater. Especially when you've managed to fall for the Dark Lord's arch enemy. And not only does one have to avoid getting killed by either side, there's still two years of school to get through.
1. Mixed Emotions

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns that.

Mixed Emotions

It was a matter of hours until the school was buzzing with rumors about what had happened that night. Ryua had no idea how the Hufflepuffs learned about it, but they were speculating just as much as the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws about what had happened. By the next morning, Ginny and Neville were bombarded with questions by everyone in the Great Hall. Except for the Slytherins, of course, who for the most part sat sullenly along their table. The Daily Prophet articles had been charmed into numerous copies by now, and certain Slytherin students were not having a good day of it.

Crabbe and Goyle were blissfully too dim to really recognize what was being said about them, but to the Malfoys, Terry Boot, Dolohov's nephew, the array of Black and Lestrange cousins… it was a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere.

And oddly enough, with Umbridge out of the way, it only made it worse. All the Educational Decrees went right out the window with Dumbledore's return, so students and teachers were free to discuss what they would with whoever it suited them.

Even Ryua was starting to reach a breaking point, by the eighth group of snobby little 'goodies'. "Always knew you were a bad lot, Malfoy," "Serves you right, all the stuff your family did," "Too bad they didn't get you too," "Now your daddy's gone, what're you going to do?" "Hah, yeah! Hope your mother's got some good favors, or you're all going to Azkaban…"

The last point snapped her. Ryua spun around, not even bothering with her wand, and shoved the little brat up against the wall, his feet kicking three inches off the ground. Quidditch training had given Ryua the muscles to lift the boy clear above her own shoulders, and raw fury only lent her strength. "Listen to me, little man, and listen very well. Say what you will about my father, my ancestors, and me. But keep your filthy little mudblood mouth off of my dead, innocent mother, or I swear I'll be landing _myself_ in Azkaban!" Her wand, which had been in her robes until this point, dug up under his ribs, leaving no doubt in his mind as to the reason for her imminent imprisonment.

No one moved for a good minute. Draco, rather shocked at her violent outburst, managed to recover and touch her shoulder. She twitched, glaring back over her shoulder at him, but did lower the boy to the ground. The group of would-be tormenters scattered like mice faced with a hungry alley cat, leaving just the twins and the ever present Crabbe and Goyle. He swallowed, gingerly removing his hand. "You know… that probably didn't help our image at the moment…"

Ryua let out a hiss of exasperation, slipping her wand back in her robes. "I know, I know… but I couldn't stand it anymore!" She was seething, to the point that her hair and robes were starting to billow in an unreal wind.

"Listen, Ryua, I understand, but you've got to get a hold of yourself. At this rate, you will get yourself in Azkaban. The threat alone is going to make some serious waves…"

"The ministry already hates me," Ryua said. Still, the thought of all those dementors sobered her up, the magic flowing around her starting to subside. And she managed to keep her peace for the last week of term, although it was close from time to time. Once Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally made it out of the hospital wing, it sparked a whole new round of jibes.

Draco, seeing his rival wandering around ('strutting like Dumbledore's prize Crup, just patted on the head and given a biscuit,' he'd said bitterly) was the next one to engage.

Going down the corridor to the Hogwarts Express, Draco caught up with the Trio. "I suppose you're ever so proud, Potter, strutting around like Dumbledore's little pet again, hero of the Wizarding world…"

"Well, I suppose I've got reason, Malfoy Harry said airily.

"You can't just land my father in Azkaban," Draco spat, hiding his confusion that Harry was just going to agree with his arguments.

"Funny, I thought I just did," he said cheerfully. It was Ryua's turn this time to defuse her brother and direct him off to the train.

She'd been dropping back on purpose, waiting until all the compartments would be full so she'd have a legitimate reason not to sit with him. Once he was settled in the mostly empty prefect's car, she wandered back down the train and collapsed next to Ron, sliding the door shut. "Been having a bad week, eh?" he asked, looking down at her.

"I've had better." Ryua said dully, absently stroking her snake. She'd taken to hauling Parsyl around with her, as heavy as she'd gotten, just to help dissuade some of the pushier students. Parsyl reached up, licked her cheek, and promptly flowed across to Harry's lap.

"Oh, that's nice, Parsyl. Abandon me, why don't you?" Ryua said tiredly, but with a small smile.

Harry grinned sheepishly at her, looking up from muttering quietly away in parseltongue. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it," she said, leaning back and starting to relax for the first time all week. "You have no idea how nice it is to just… not have people riding you all day long."

"I do, actually," Harry said, pulling an inquisitive Parsyl out of Pig's cage. "I sympathize completely, believe me."

"Yeah," she said, smiling, "I guess you do. Haven't ever heard you threaten to kill off all the little buggers who won't leave you alone though."

"I've been tempted… but yeah, that would have really only made matters worse."

"Oh, well. It's finally summer vacation!"

Hermione looked over. "I thought you hated your home life?"

"Hah. I just hated my parents! I'm going to enjoy myself this year." Ryua said grinning.

"Honestly, you have to be the only person in school who'd enjoy their parents getting thrown in Azkaban…"

"Ever spent five minutes in a room with Lucius?" Ryua said, looking over at her.

"Aah… no, I'll take your word for it, Hermione said, nervously poking at Parsyl, who was investigating Crookshanks a little too closely.

Harry hissed at her, elicting an obedient return from Parsyl, avoiding what could have turned into a very ugly fight in Hermione's lap. "You really have to teach me how to do that, Harry." Ryua said enviously.

"Hey, he could give her private lessons… Like Bill's doing for Fleur…" Ron said, cutting off with a yelp as Ryua smacked him on the ear, blushing ever so slightly.

"Anyways," Hermione said hastily, "What classes are you taking next year? Now that we're done our OWLs, we don't have to keep them all…"

"All the same except Charms," Ryua said instantly. "I got lucky on the OWL, had a retired Auror testing me, so I think I actually passed. I'm not trying my luck again. You?"

"Well, everything, of course!" Hermione said in a slightly offended tone.

Ryua chuckled, looking over at Ron. "Dropping Divination, Astrology… maybe Potions too, I'm just no good at it…"

"Ah, no Ron, you'll never be an Auror that way," Harry said. "I'm dropping Divination and Astrology, but McGonnagall's made me keep Potions… and Transfiguration… and Charms…"

"Well, maybe you'll be a professional Quidditch player, and we'll go found a team and take over the world! …You are back to playing Quidditch now, right?"

"Yeah, Dumbledore and McGonnagall reinstated me." Harry said with great satisfaction.

"Excellent. You'll probably be captain too… my future rival," Ryua said, contemplatively.

"Yeah. Doubt you'll be able to pull off the cup though. I'm not giving it back!"

"Or me!" Ron said, not wanting to be left out of any discussion involving Quidditch.

"Hah. We'll see then, won't we?" Ryua said, eagerly accepting the challenge.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, Ryua missing the one highlight when she went to the bathroom. She came back to find three disturbingly familiar looking slugs in the corridor, and various DA members walking serenely away. "Having fun?" she asked.

"Oh, much," Harry said gleefully as he tucked his wand away.

"You do realize I'm going to have to get them off the train all by myself, right?"

Hermione looked guilty, "Ah… actually no, didn't think about that… but Crabbe and Goyle should have parents coming, right?"

Ryua sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Still, Draco's got a nasty personality when recovering… I'll just lock him in his room and tell the house elves not to let him out until he's perfectly ready to be nice again!"

Author's Note: Wow. Sorry for the long wait, people. I kept getting distracted… you know, homework, sleep, school… and so on.


	2. Home

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns that.

Home

As Ryua had predicted, Draco was somewhat less than pleasant for a few days. Luckily, the elves managed to reverse most of the magic on him, and he was just left with the occasional slug-burping attack. Once he was coherent enough to realize that they were at home alone, even the humiliation of the slugs didn't keep him down. They did do some homework… sort of. Mostly, they played Quidditch all day long, practiced dueling… and Ryua discovered an odd obsession.

Toppy squealed excitedly as Ryua lifted another tray of cookies out of the oven. Determined to be able to accomplish one homey task in her life, Ryua had started spending time in the kitchens. The food charms failed as miserably as ever, but Toppy had been determined. She'd hauled out some rather dusty measuring cups, and picked out a simple gingersnap recipe from a huge, moldering Muggle cookbook.

Lo and behold, Ryua had managed to measure, mix, and bake the cookies, only using her wand to lift the hot stone sheets in and out of the oven. And ever since, she and Draco had been eating rather too many baked goodies. Muffins, cookies, buns, stuffed rolls… although cakes still eluded her. Ryua privately believed that the more elaborate recipes had their own brand of kitchen magic, even though it was a Muggle book. But anything small, that could be measured out exactly, Ryua made.

The elves were somewhat disturbed, actually. Without either Lucius or Narcissa to bother them, and Ryua taking over a rather large portion of the baking, they suddenly had a much-depleted chore level. Once Toppy brought up the concerns, she set them to cleaning up the grounds, finding her more Muggle recipes, learn to read and write, and all the other odd little jobs that Lucius would have deemed a house elf incapable of comprehending. The elves were ecstatic, and took their more aggressive role in the house quite seriously.

They could actually be seen now, and Ryua had made them make some decent uniforms. As long as she only gave the order, not the actual outfits, they were perfectly happy making themselves look presentable. Now, if the twins were out, the elves could quite competently handle visitors, ministry officials, mail, and all but the worst relatives.

With everything so set up, Ryua and Draco were having the best time of their lives. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves, playing Quidditch, dueling, sleeping when they wished, eating when they were hungry… and all without the worry that someone with a nasty attitude towards anyone cheerful was going to come and curse them into oblivion for it.

And then, some visitors showed up that made the house elves scatter. Toppy, still the bravest of the elves, darted across their Quidditch field, shrilling at the top of her little elf voice. "He is home, masters, he is home, he is home!" Draco blanched and completely missed the quaffle, darting over to Ryua instead.

"We have to leave," he said, tension and fear apparent in his voice. "He's going to be so furious…"

"No kidding. Head for the Leaky Cauldron… or somewhere else like that. I'll be right behind you." Ryua said, descending.

"Whoa, wait, wait, what do you think you're doing? He's probably mad enough to kill you right now!" Indeed, the wave of fury-driven magical aura coming from the house was tangible even from the far reaches of the property.

"I have something to do first." Ryua said, darting towards the manor.

Draco growled, grabbing onto her broom "Listen, Ryua, this isn't the time for revenge, this is the time in which we run away very quickly." His eyes bored into hers, his raw worry shading his silver-blue eyes.

"I'm just going to burn down the broom cupboard, alright? I'm not about to get killed over homework!" Ryua said, twisting out of his grasp. She veered to the shed and set it ablaze, not wanting Lucius to be at all able to follow them in the skies. "Okay, now we can go."

Relieved, Draco shot upwards, disappearing into the sun. Ryua turned the nose of her broom up to follow him, when a shrieking, enraged hiss erupted from the side of the house. Ryua glanced up even though she wouldn't be able to see Draco, and prayed he was far enough away not to see what she was doing. Resolutely, she turned back to face the house, and Lucius standing, haggard and furious, on the back patio.

She'd known from the sound already, but Ryua's breath caught in her throat at what she saw. Lucius had stormed though the house, and managed to catch Parsyl. He had one hand viciously clamped around the base of her skull, just out of range of her fangs. Writhing around in his grasp, Parsyl tried every trick she knew to get out of his grasp, eventually looping a coil around his shoulder, then up to his neck. A triumphant hiss this time; Parsyl was no constrictor, but she was very large and strong, and was quite capable of crushing a windpipe.

Lucius apparently realized this, and with a sickening leer of pleasure dug his thumb up through her jaw, shattering the delicate bone and driving it into her throat. The bloodred fire in her eyes flickered out, and her sinuous loops slackened.

Any sense of intelligence Ryua might have retained completely disappeared, buried under a wave of rage unlike any she'd felt in all her years of hate and pain. Lucius had pushed and pushed at her all these years, trying to find a breaking point, the point where she'd finally submit to him. Apparently, he'd finally realized that no amount of personal pain was going to move her much. As he unwound the ivory coils from his neck and arm, letting them slump slackly to the ground, Ryua hit the breaking point he'd been aiming for.

Unfortunately for him, Ryua snapped onto the side of violent insanity. A scream of rage and pain tearing from her, she dove straight for him, utilizing all the speed of her top-of-the-line broom. With reflexes born of years of dueling for his life, Lucius managed to duck what would have easily been a killing blow, and took her clubbed hands on the shoulder instead. Ryua felt bone crack, wasn't sure whether it was hers or his, and didn't care in the slightest. She'd never been pushed this far over the brink, she no longer cared whether she lived or died, stayed in one piece or came out maimed, as long as she did worse to him.

She whipped straight up to avoid crashing into the veranda doors, looping backwards to rake her nails across his face. He shrieked this time, a sound that only intensified Ryua's blood lust. Rocketing upwards again to get the advantage of speed, Ryua was blinded temporarily by the sun. Unwilling to stop at all, she hung in mid air, listening for the sound of his enraged, labored breathing, the scent of his blood and sweat in the hot August sun.

Her adrenaline sharpened senses homed in like a shark on a wounded seal, and she plummeted down, hands poised to tear at him again, to pain, damage, cause the blood to flow… Her eyes started to clear. She saw she was right on target, and upped her speed, teeth bared, fingers hooked…

Lucius searched the air, trying to pick her out of the painfully bright sky. She was far too dangerous airborne, the broom would have to go. He wiped blood out of his eyes, as one of the furrows had come dangerously close to blinding him, and flicked his wand out as he heard the telltale whistle of an airborne creature at full speed…

A brilliant blue light cut across Ryua's vision, and she was flung from her broom before she could veer off. She forced herself to go completely limp, and prayed she would hit the ground, and not the deck or wall. Luck was with her, and she plowed through the decorative cherry bushes lining one of the numerous walkways. The moment she felt her speed drop, she drew her eternally present wand, and forced her body flat to stop her rolling. Most of the bushes were flattened, and Ryua could feel blood trickling from numerous little cuts, but all her major bones appeared to be working, and she pushed carefully up, crouching like a hunting cat in the scant shelter of the decimated bushes.

Lucius was coming towards her at the top speed someone fresh out of Azkaban could muster, his wand trailing a humming whip composed entirely of cold, blue light. _A whip… that's how he got my broom…_she glanced around for it, and saw it rather battered, with a spiraled burn around the shaft, but intact, laying forgotten in the shattered wreck of a table. That was the quick way out…

But Ryua didn't want to leave. Parsyl had been closer to her than most humans, and Ryua was out for revenge. Lucius swaggered up, obviously not expecting Ryua to be in the least bit able to fight back. She had other plans, and waited until he was almost on top of her before lunging straight for him, the heel of her hand catching him right in the nose. He staggered back, and her reductor curse sent him flying into a rather large, extremely solid oak tree.

"You filthy, cruel, slimy son of a bitch!" Ryua shrieked, her voice broken and rough. She stalked up to him, her raw magic keeping him transfixed. "What the bloody hell is your problem? "Why… can't… you… just… leave me _alone?"_ With every word, a fresh blow of magic crushed him into the tree.

Lucius was absolutely stunned. He'd always been the one in control, always had the upper hand… but now here he was… _helpless._ He hated to admit it, but he'd completely underestimated her, and was now paying for it. He'd felt a rib crack on the last slam, and he was starting to get dizzy…

Perhaps unfortunately for him, Ryua wasn't about to kill him that quickly. She lifted her wand slightly, allowing him to slump to the ground, then in a chilling echo of his own voice, hissed, "Crucio."

Ryua had never held any doubt that she'd be able to handle the Unforgivable curses, and she was certainly off to a good start. Lucius writhed on the ground, his screams echoing across the grounds. Luckily, they were large grounds, and no nosy neighbors would be likely to come knocking. Remembering one or two of her own sessions, she walked calmly over and kicked his wand far out of reach, in the unlikely event that he'd be able to use it… She held him under the curse until his screams became raw, scratched sounds, relishing every moment of it. Then, almost regretfully, she lifted her wand, breaking the spell.

Really, the way he just laid there panting was quite pathetic. His fingers worked at the dirt, long silver-blond hair tangled in the grass, faint, mewling sounds escaping him. "You are disgusting, Lucius, you know that? You care only for your own sick pleasures, you can't comprehend a bond of friendship or love, and when you see it, you want to destroy it. And now, when all your cruelty and hate come back at you, all you can do is whimper. You almost aren't worth my time," Ryua said, her voice eerily calm, at odds with her blazing eyes and vibratingbody as she pulled her wand back for another spell. "But, I don't think you deserve to live, so I'll waste a little more of it on you. Avada…"

She never quite got to finish, as she was flung sideways about 30 feet. Ryua hit the ground, rolled, ricocheted off a fountain, and skidded to a halt. She started to push herself up, but collapsed, swearing. Her right arm appeared to have snapped in that last impact. She slowly raised her head, maneuvering her good arm into a cradling position, to see who had come out of the house and blind-sided her. _Shit…_

_Author's Note: _Oh, I'm just absolutely furious... I'd been writing this, and it was nearly twice as long. So, I decided to cut it in half. So, I did, I cut and pasted just fine, saved this copy... but then the computer died, and I lost like, three more pages... namely, my almost-completely-done chapter three... I'm so pissed.


	3. A Fight

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns that.

A Fight

Apparently, most of the Azkaban prisoners had come home with Lucius. The Lestranges, Crabbe, Goyle, and Antonio Dolohov were striding across the yard, Bellatrix's wand in her hand. Ryua forced herself to a kneeling position, then collapsed back against the marble fountain. She tore off the remnants of her shirt, leaving just her sweat soaked bra, and tied her arm tightly to her ribs. It probably wasn't the best treatment, as it shot lances of pain up her arm until she almost blacked out, but it would keep it out of the way…

Cinching the knot with her teeth, Ryua picked up her wand familiarly with her left hand, forcing her body upright against he marble. Ignoring the raw scrapes it left on her now bare back, she leaned more heavily than she needed to for effect and went back to studying her opponents.

Granted, they'd be more easy to beat now than ever, being just out of Azkaban, but she wasn't exactly in the best of shape herself. And although she could probably win against Crabbe or Goyle alone, the others were completely beyond her right now, not to mention that they'd all be ganging up…

Bellatrix grabbed Goyle and stalked over to where Lucius lay, still whimpering in the shade of the tree. "Damn. You'll have to make this quick, boys, I'm no nurse!" She unceremoniously helped Goyle sling Lucius across his shoulders.

"That bad? For one so young and inexperienced?" Dolohov said, eyebrows raised. "I'm impressed. I'll take you on as an apprentice now, and save you a rather lot of pain…" Ryua knew that would probably be true. Dolohov was highly prized by Voldemort as a master torturer, and as a result, carried quite a lot of weight. If he claimed her as his own, none of the others would contest it…

"Thanks… but you can… bugger off, Dolohov," Ryua gasped. Unfortunately, very little of that was shammed, at least one rib felt broken, and her breath kept hitching. "I'd have thought… that you could tell how little… I like being under control by now…"

He scowled, looking at her. Apparently, he hadn't expected to be turned down. "Fine then. Enjoy the alternative…"

Bella shouted back over her shoulder as she and Goyle walked back to the house. "We're taking him back, he probably shouldn't wait much longer… You boys have fun, but don't stay too long. Her bratty little brother's either around here somewhere, or he's already gone for help."

"I think we can handle a couple of adolescents. This one's supposed to be the worst anyways," Rodolphus said, turning back to Ryua. "And she doesn't appear to be capable of much resistance…"

Ryua growled, although she couldn't really deny it right now. She'd lost more magic and energy during her earlier bout than she thought, and her physical stamina was shot to hell. She had about enough left for one decent spell before she was tapped dry… and there were the Lestrange brothers, Dolohov, and Crabbe all coming steadily towards her.

And from the looks on their faces, they weren't worried in the slightest… in fact, she noticed Crabbe and Dolohov looking at her rather closely… She swore as she realized just how she must appear. What clothing she had on was torn and drenched with either sweat or blood, her already form-fitting pants clinging to her, and exposing rather too much skin through the rents in the fabric, and her obvious state of helplessness just must add to the effect…

That firmed her resolve. There was no way in all the hells of the world that she was going to be gang-raped by a bunch of ancient Death Eaters. Closing her eyes and concentrating on gathering every last scrap of magic she had, she started trying to think of what spell she knew that could slow them down enough to get her on the broom and into the air… She hoped fervrently that they hadn't arrived on brooms themselves…

The hot sun glared into her eyes, making sweat trickle painfully into her myriad cuts… _The sun…_Ryua started to carefully weave her wand around, making a rather complicated shield charm…

Dolohov saw what she was doing, and raised his own wand with a shout. The others followed suit, Rodolphus throwing a stunning spell. Ryua bit her lip in concentration, as this was her only chance, and it was difficult to make the proper pattern with her left… Triumphantly, her wand snapped down, pulling a reflective half dome with it. Through it, she could see the stunner ricochet off, but more importantly, so did the sunlight. It blinded the oncoming Death Eaters, giving her the precious moments she needed… "Accio!" she called, concentrating with all her might on making the charm work for once in her life…

Her broom sped over, and she collapsed over it, relieved. She didn't waste any time, however, and kicked off, rocketing up as fast as the damaged broom would go. Ryua wanted as much distance between her and the manor as possible before her waning strength gave out completely.

She was about five hundred feet up before she looked down to check for pursuers. It was hard to tell… but she could spot specks below, moving too fast for birds, and to agilely for Muggle planes. They looked spread out, however, so she'd probably only have to deal with one at a time…

She flew as high as she dared, although not as high as she would have liked; her broom wouldn't take the strain. Lying almost completely flat on her broom to conserve energy, her arm and legs dangling down, she stayed up for hours, wanting to wait until nightfall before descending and trying to recharge her magic…

The sky was in full-blown sunset glory when Rodolphus finally found her. She yanked sideways, feeling the breeze from his curse blow up past her. Swearing, she turned around, gripping her broom in her knees and holding her wand ready. They measured each other up for a few seconds; Ryua was beaten, bloody, one-armed, and exhausted, on a rather questionable broom; he was mounted on one of the newest Cleansweeps, much less tired… but he was holding firmly to the broom with his free hand, and clinging tightly with his legs. _He's no flyer… maybe I'll live through this after all…_Ryua thought, trying to boost her energy. The chill of the air kept her fully awake, if nothing else, and she'd managed to find a cloud she could soak her clothes in to get a drink earlier. It wasn't much, but she wasn't completely out yet.

"I don't suppose you're willing to just let me go, eh?" Ryua said tiredly.

"Of course not. The Dark Lord would like to see you now, you've started to pique our interest."

_Great. Just who I'd always intended as my fan following…_ "Fine then, Lestrange, we'll do this your way. Since she knew very well that she didn't have the energy for a full duel, she copied out Lucius' energy whip. It would stay active until she ran completely dry or dismissed it, and was nice and versatile… it hummed softly, waving in the light breeze. As much as she hated being on defense, Ryua conserved her energy, waiting for him to make the first move.

He did, rather brashly for someone so experienced. A jet of red light shot past her, she barely had to lean over, and he shot forward, hand raised to try and grab her. Ryua flipped upside down, flicking the whip just a hair ahead of him. Naturally, he blundered right into it, screaming as the blue light flowed easily across his skin, leaving a burn mark across his chest and all the way back to his knee before he managed to veer of. Starting to feel a little more confident, Ryua turned to watch him as he looped back.

Rodolphus' wand glowed bright for a split second as he flew towards her, giving her the advance warning she needed to pull sharply upwards and avoid the spell. He matched her, both of them traveling completely vertical, clinging tightly to their brooms. He had the advantage, having both arms, and reached out, snagging her broom. Ryua let go with her hand long enough to burn his off, and clasped back on before she slid off. He howled, dropping back, but came up again on her other side, this time grabbing ruthlessly at her bound arm. Ryua shrieked, and actually blacked out for a moment. She came to plummeting downward by a hundred feet or so, but within arm's reach of her broom, and swung herself back on.

A spinning blade spell came hurtling down from above, tearing the skin from one shoulder and slicing along her cheekbone, and Ryua felt herself fading, the light of her whip ebbing a few notches. Determined to take her opponent down with her, Ryua forced herself back upwards, letting her good arm trail back. Fifty feet, forty, thirty… close enough. Up snapped her arm, sending the whip up to curl securely around his broom, and she flipped over. She tore down, eyes blurring from the incredible wind, dragging Rodolphus along to the ground. Ryua could hear snatches of him cursing, screaming, trying to break her grip or curse her into oblivion… but she never wavered. She yanked, shortening the whip so he was falling almost level with her.

An experienced flyer would have known to pull up, or to guide her momentum towards water, but he was panicking, trying to get rid of her first… Ryua scanned the ground through fading vision, arrowing towards a suitably nasty, sharp cliff face… although at the speed they were going, hitting just about anything would turn them both into so much jelly. Her whip finally failed, releasing him, but he had no chance, didn't have the experience or strength to pull out of the dive…

Ten seconds away from the ground, Ryua blew past something tiny, covered in feathers, and hauling a parchment twice its size. _I… I know that owl…_With an almighty effort, Ryua bent right backwards, leaning all her weight on the tail of her broom, wrenching the tip up and to the left… She grazed the cliff face, scraping her leg raw… listening to the satisfying thud behind her as the Lestrange family shrunk by one. The owl had fluttered back overhead, landing on the front of Ryua's broom as she hovered in midair, too exhausted to move. "Take…" she whispered, hoarsely, "Take me to Ginny… Weasley. Ginny… Ginny…" she trailed off, managing to put away her wand and lock her legs and arm around the broom before she completely passed out.

Pigwidgeon, utterly thrilled to be in charge of such a huge, interesting delivery, tucked his letter under her arm, dug his tiny little talons into the battered wood of her broom, and set about hauling her home.

Author's Note: Aww… thanks JeannieBeannie for offering to kill my computer for me! I think it heard you, it hasn't acted up since!

And HPF139… well, I did kinda mean for her to be scary in that chapter, a sign of just how evil she has the capacity to be when pushed… I thought the contrast between the cookies and the torture would really get it across…


	4. Rescue

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns that.

Does nobody love me anymore? Or did I scare you all off? I've had only three reviews, by two people, these last two chapters, and I was really proud of them too…

Rescued

"Oy, Fred, pass that butter… NO! Not that way!"

Fred, grinning wickedly, had just levitated the butter dish, floating it over the table, pretending to drop it in every dish along the way… Finally, Hermione just plucked it out of the air as it was skimming the jar of maple syrup, and handed it to Ron.

"Honestly, Fred, it's like you haven't grown up at all…" she says, before taking another huge bite of Mrs. Weasley's pancakes.

"George! She's finally got it!" Fred proclaimed.

"Yes! We haven't grown up in the slightest!"

"In fact…"

"We're even less mature…"

"Than we were before!"

She wrinkled her nose at them, but couldn't really stay angry for long with them. She and Harry had arrived the week before, under full guard by the Order, and were too happy to really care about anything.

A madly twittering fluffball suddenly flew in, dumping the mail in Mr. Weasley's lap and landing on Ginny's head.

"That bloody bird… cm'ere!" Ron growled, reaching up to untangle Pig from Ginny's hair. When the owl eluded his grasp, flapping his little wings madly, Ron started to say some rather nasty things, standing up to get a better angle.

"Ron, wait," Ginny said, getting up gingerly. "I think he's trying to get me to follow him… must be something too big to carry through the window."

"Whatever," Ron said, shrugging. As long as he got to keep eating…

Unfortunately for him, he didn't. Ten seconds later, Ginny screamed. "MOM! Mom, come quick!" she yelled, sounding panicked. Mrs. Weasley, always the mother, hurried out immediately, followed by the entire family, adoptive Weasleys included.

"Charlie! Arthur!" she snapped, waving them to the front. "Pick her up. Fred and George, clear off the couch. Ginny, call Dumbledore, tell him there's been an attack! The rest of you, get back inside!" she roared, bustling them all back in the house and setting up the best locking charms she knew. "Bill, Hermione, lock all the doors, and the windows! Ron, you and Harry go and get my healer's kit," she said, marshalling them all like a general on a battlefield.

Sharing blank, worried looks, Ron and Harry dug out Mrs. Weasley's emergency supplies. "What happened? Did you see who it was?"

"Dunno," Ron said, picking up the last jar of herbs. "If someone's hurt that bad, why didn't she tell Ginny to call St. Mungoes first?"

"Bad enough she didn't want to wait?" Harry said, turning back around to head into the living room. "Come on, we won't find out standing here,"

Someone was thoughtful enough to grab the supplies as he turned the corner, because he would have likely dropped them all over the floor if he'd still been holding them. "…_Ryua…" _he choked, leaning back against the doorframe.

She was laid out on the hastily cleared couch, blood already soaking into the fabric. She looked like she'd been bleeding far too long, her skin was white under the blood, eyes sunken and dark. "She's still alive, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, "Dead people can't bleed. Now, pass me that red jar… that's the one," she said as she hastily closed the slash on Ryua's cheek.

Harry numbly passed it to her, sitting down with a thump. Hermione came in and sat beside him, looking nearly as pale as Ryua. "What… what happened to her?"

"Death Eaters, I'd say," Arthur said, grimly spreading the contents of another jar across her torn shoulder. "She's lucky not to be dead…"

"She was attacked more than once," Charlie said, working on the various smaller tears on her legs and torso. "These ones are just about scabbed up, and those two are much fresher."

"Okay, sit her up!" Molly ordered, just finishing mixing something in a glass. "She needs to drink as much of this as possible, she's lost too much blood…" Which was an understatement, probably. Arthur and Bill propped her up, as she carefully poured a few drops in her mouth. Ryua coughed weakly, wincing, waving her hand in a vague attempt to drive them off, which only made Mrs. Weasley more determined to pour more liquid down her throat. "Drink, girl, drink or you'll die!"

Never one to seek death when she could escape it, Ryua managed to swallow a few times before she completely passed out again. "Good enough!" Molly said. Ginny came in, leading a worried Dumbledore

"Ginny said Ryua had been attacked…" he said, not bothering to continue once he saw her on the couch. He just went to work, although no one could make out exactly what he was doing. Whatever it was, it appeared to work, as Ryua started to stir, not looking quite so deathly pale as before. "She's got broken ribs as well, Molly, and tying that sling around them wasn't exactly helpful…"

"She did that herself!" she snapped, moving to charm them back into place.

"What was… what was I supposed to do…" Ryua muttered, vaguely insulted, although not really conscious yet. Mrs. Weasley forced more of her concoction on her, until Ryua sputtered, reaching up to push her hand away.

"Hush, you did just fine, Ryua. You're safe now, we're helping you…" Dumbledore said, gently stroking her tousled, blood-streaked hair. She fell back into an uneasy sleep, as Charlie finished with the rest of the cuts and Mrs. Weasley knitted the last rib into place. "Her magic was completely drained, along with most of her life energy; I gave her enough of mine to stabilize her. I'd say she was dueling…"

"A pretty physical duel, Dumbledore," Molly said, turning her wand onto Ryua's arm. "She's got a lot of bruising, and I don't know any spells that break bones…"

"No… but getting thrown into a wall by a powerful curse does…" Arthur said, helping his now exhausted wife to stand up. "And you need to rest now…"

"I'm perfectly alright!" Molly snapped, shaking his hands off. Of course, then she wobbled, and didn't fight his hands this time. "Someone… she can't be left alone yet…"

"I'll stay," Harry said quietly, pulling himself onto a footstool.

"Good lad," Dumbledore said, ushering the older Weasleys out. "I'll be transferring all of you to the Headquarters, as soon as Ryua can move. For now, we'll just warn the other members…"

He, Bill, Charlie, Arthur, Fred, and George, all flooed to a different destination to spread the word of the first official Death Eater strike, leaving the house much emptier than before. Ginny forced her mother to go to bed, since she'd drained much of her magic healing Ryua, leaving Ron and Hermione in the kitchen. "Bloody Hell…" Ron said, unable to come up with anything else.

"Bloody hell about sums it up," Hermione agreed, going back into the living room. She pulled a blanket over Ryua, the last thing she needed was to catch a cold, and awkwardly put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You okay? You look pretty pale…"

He shook his head slightly, eyes never leaving Ryua's troubled face. "I… I thought she was dead, for a minute…"

"You and me both, mate," Ron said, collapsing into a chair. "She's never seemed the type to get beaten in a fight… I've never even seen her really tired or hurt…"

"I've seen her hurt," Hermione said, sitting on the arm beside him. "She tends to get angry, wants to kill whoever did it to her…"

"I bet she hates being like this, vulnerable," Harry said quietly, tentatively reaching out to touch her. "She hates not being in control…" He lightly traced his finger along her cheek, following the thin scar left by the horrible gash. She twitched a little, then lay still again.

"Good thing Pig found her…" Ron said. "And to think I was annoyed with him for not coming when I called him…"


	5. Recovery

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns that.

Recovery

Ryua spent the next few days drifting in and out of consciousness. She was once vaguely aware of being carried up some narrow, winding stairs to be set in a bed… and could recall various redheaded people forcing her to drink things. There was always someone there, however, Ryua could sense them even when she was asleep. In the middle of her fourth night, she truly woke up for the first time. She sat up slowly, looking around the dark room.

It was smaller than just about anything at her house, and she could feel the blankets she was lying under were hand-made and well patched. However, they held a touch of something that was really missing at home, something she couldn't quite identify.

Another two beds were in the room, and although Ryua couldn't make out color or details in the moonlight, there was no mistaking the stack of books piled at the foot of one of them. "Hermione?" Ryua called softly.

The other girl stirred, almost drifted back to sleep, and then apparently realized who had spoken. "Ryua!" Hermione whispered. "You're awake! We've been so worried…"

"Me too," she replied. "I honestly thought I was going to die… did Pig actually haul me all the way to the Weasleys?" For no other house could be so crowded and shabby, and yet feel so comfortable.

"Apparently…" Hermione said, coming over to sit on the end of her bed. "He's so fat from owl treats now, it's a wonder he can still fly… Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?"

Ryua paused a moment, taking stock. "No… I think I'm fine… how can that be possible? They had me beat almost to death…"

"Mrs. Weasley's a very good nurse," Hermione said, face looking pale and shadowed in the cool light. "And Dumbledore did something too… and we've all been shoving liquids and potions down your throat at every opportunity."

"Oh…" Ryua said, thinking. This was undoubtedly the fastest she'd ever recovered in her life, and from the worst injuries. Maybe she should have started going to a healer years ago… Ryua's breath caught as she remembered why she'd never gone. She just now realized that she was dressed in one of the Weasley's nightshirts; her old, torn clothes were gone. Which meant that someone had changed her… which meant that someone had seen her back, and the curse damage there…

But Hermione didn't seem to have noticed her sudden anxiety, nor was she acting like she knew any deep, dark secrets. "It's good to see you awake again," she said, smiling. "Although, I'd advise getting some more sleep. Mrs. Weasley will be making pancakes in the morning, and we'll probably all be off to… somewhere safe. I'm not supposed to tell you where, I'll let Dumbledore do that." Reaching out to touch Ryua's arm comfortingly, Hermione crawled back onto her own bed, curling up under the comfortable quilts.

Thoroughly confused now, and slightly worried, Ryua laid back down, positive she'd never get to sleep. However, the soft pillows, clean, comfortable blankets, and peaceful atmosphere did there work… and the next thing she knew was the sound of Ginny climbing out of bed, sunlight slanting though the window. "Morning, Gin…" Ryua said hoarsely. She coughed and winced, her throat was still a bit raw, and her ribs were stiff and aching slightly… Adept as Mrs. Weasley might have been, the fact remained that she'd taken serious damage, and her body wasn't pleased about it.

Ginny squealed, rushing over to hug her, then jumping back almost immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry… Mum said you'd had some nasty sunburn on your back from being up so long, not to mention the skin missing from your shoulder…"

"Hmm?" Ryua said, pausing in mid yawn. She concentrated, paying attention to her skin. _Sunburn shouldn't be that difficult to fix…_But yes, it most certainly was sunburned… and very thoughtful of Mrs. Weasley to give her a reason to keep her back covered, at least for a while. "Yeah… it's not so bad. I'm alive, good enough for me! At least, it'll be good enough if that smell is really breakfast…" A most delicious aroma had just started to waft up the stairs, a mixture of flour, fruit, butter, coffee… and again, something just a little bit different from any meal she'd had at home. Ryua still couldn't put her finger on it, but was more than willing to go and eat some pancakes anyway…

Ginny stood right beside her as she pushed herself carefully up, grabbing her good shoulder carefully to avoid any burn or break when Ryua wobbled. "I'm fine," she said, voice still hoarse. "Just have to remember how to stand up…"

Hermione got up too, moving piles of books and stuff out of her path on their way out of the room, and went first down the stairs, just in case Ryua toppled forward. It was a pretty wise precaution on her part, as it took every ounce of Ryua's concentration to get down the spiraling, slightly uneven stairs. She made it down all right, however, and after a few moments of breathing slowly and deeply, was ready to walk into the kitchen. _I hate being weak…_Ryua thought, as she forced herself to stay upright. Once she was within range of a chair, however, she stopped bothering and just slumped into it, leaning back against it.

"Oh, Ryua dear," Mrs. Weasley said, turning around with an enormous platter of pancakes. "It's so good to see you awake! How are you feeling?"

"Just fine, thanks," Ryua replied, her voice starting to sound a little more like herself again. "I bet I'd be better with one of those pancakes…"

Mrs. Weasley smiled, and somehow depositing the platter on the already full table, magicked a few onto her plate. "Butter dear? Or syrup, cheese, peanut butter, jam, yogurt…" The named items floated up obediently, and chuckling, Ryua took some butter and the jar of homemade strawberry jam.

"And you'll be wanting something to drink… How about some juice? Orange? Apple? Grapefruit? Cranberry, or Pomegranate…"

"Ah… grapefruit please," Ryua said, hastily. She had a suspicion that Mrs. Weasley would keep naming for a good while yet. Her glass, one of the mix-matched ones strewn about the table, filled obediently. So set up, Ryua got through a pancake and a half before the boys start to stagger downstairs.

Bill came down first, and smiled, relieved to see Ryua up, if rather pale and tired. "I see Mum's got some pancakes inside you already… the best cure there is!" Having made this bold statement, he promptly helped himself to a stack of pancakes as high as the bottle of syrup he proceeded to pour over them…

Fred and George pounded down the stairs, making loud, dramatic exclamations about how they'd never believed she'd ever recover… and how she looked still on death's door, and how she'd better not have eaten all the pancakes yet… To which Ryua responded by throwing a pillow off of one of the chairs. The food was too good to waste in a fight…

Ron took three pancakes, a mug of coffee, and two oranges before he woke up. In fact, he only noticed Ryua because he wanted his fourth pancake smothered in the strawberry jam… "Oy! Where'd you come from?" he shouted as he noticed whose hand passed him the jam.

"Upstairs," Ryua said, smiling. "Honestly, if it weren't for the obvious scars, you wouldn't have even noticed, would you?" The irregular triangles left on her wrists from Zabini's spell were especially livid against her too-pale skin.

"Of course I would… ah, no… probably not…" Ron said with a sigh. He didn't act dejected long, of course, with that lovely jar of strawberry jam in his hand.

Mr. Weasley came sleepily out of his room down the hall, waving a cheery greeting to Ryua as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "Ah, good, I'd thought I'd be the last one up… We're still missing someone…"

"Charlie's still abroad dear, on assignment from Dumbledore." Mrs. Weasley said, giving him a peck on the cheek as she sits beside him.

"Right… then the last chair must be…"

He was interrupted by a joyful shout from the staircase. Ryua turned just in time to see Harry pelt across the small room, eyes alight. He picked her up in a tight hug, planting a kiss directly on her smiling lips. The conversation around the table ground to a halt, even Ron looking up from his food. "Ah, mate… the whole family's here, you know…"

Harry put Ryua back down, his expression somewhere between embarrassment and horror. No one was supposed to know they liked each other…

"Oh, just sit down, Harry," Hermione said, exasperatedly. "It's done now…"

Harry sat, face red. Ryua passed him some pancakes, now a complete believer in the theory that they made everything better… Hermione, being the most articulate among them, decided to explain the situation to everyone…

"…So now they're going out… well, as much as you can without being able to go anywhere." Hermione finished, and went straight back to her breakfast.

"It… just seemed like a dangerous sort of thing to let out…" Harry said quietly, still rather red.

"Yeah, especially after the talk Snape gave you…" Ryua said, smiling. "He's the only other one who knows, and took it upon himself to give him 'the talk'…"

"You're probably right to keep it a secret," Bill said slowly. "If for no other reason than you'll have a terrible time of it at school…"

"And Death Eaters trying to kill us out of school," Ryua said glumly. "Not that they aren't already trying to do that, I suppose…"

"Still, don't give them another reason," Mrs. Weasley said briskly, plunking another pancake on both of their plates. "We won't tell… right Fred? George?"

"Mother!" Fred says, miming a knife to the heart. "How could you!"

"We never gossip!" George says, sounding wounded.

"Just because we've got customers from all over the place,"

"And they all love to talk…"

"And they're rather shady characters…"

"And we've always been brats…"

"She automatically assumes that we're GOSSIPS!" Fred shrieked, putting a hand to his forehead and collapsing into George's arms, who promptly fainted onto Ron. He looked disgustedly at them and shoved them back up, irritated to have to stop eating.

Mrs. Weasley scowled at them, hiding a smile. "Don't mind them, you two," she said, smiling reassuringly at Ryua and Harry, "We'll support the both of you, I'm so glad that you're happy…" Fred and George promptly make retching noises, and Mrs. Weasley turns to berate them…

They'd broken the tension though, and the Weasleys, and honorary Weasley members, all started laughing and talking again. By the time the platter of pancakes was gone, each of them had eaten far more than they'd thought possible, and Ryua was just starting to think that a nap would be a brilliant notion…

"Well, now that Ryua's awake," Mr. Weasley said, getting resignedly up. "I'd better go get Dumbledore," he walked over to the fireplace, flooing to the Headmaster's office.

Ryua looked quizzically after him, turning to Mrs. Weasley to ask what was going on. "Ah… why does Dumbledore need to be here? I'm not about to get arrested for killing Rodolphus, am I? I swear, _that_ was in self defense…"

"Oh, no, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, reassuringly patting her hand. "We're just going somewhere safer now. We didn't want to move you before, but now that you're awake, we should leave as soon as possible."

"Leave?" Ryua asked. "But… I like it here…"

Bill laughed at her crestfallen expression. "Oh, don't worry, Mum'll keep cooking at the Headquarters too…"

"Headquarters?" Ryua repeated, head snapping around. "You're taking me to the Order of the Phoenix? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied simply, as he stepped out from the fireplace with his usual impeccable timing. "We're certainly not leaving you for Lord Voldemort to find, and I don't think you'd enjoy the Ministry's hospitality much more. And anyways, Severus has spoken on your behalf; he trusts you."

"Oh." Ryua said, well silenced by this sudden load of news. Everyone else went to find their bags, having already packed on the night she arrived.

"Dear, was there anything you need to get?" Mrs. Weasley said, touching her forehead as she went by, checking for a temperature.

"No… the only thing I have is my wand…" Ryua said sadly. "My… I didn't have time to get anything else."

"Alright then, dear," she said, patting her cheek. "We'll just lend you some robes of Ginny's then, and we'll figure out what to do later about everything else, okay?"

Ryua nodded, forcing herself to smile, although she suddenly felt hollow. Wrapped up in the warm, cheerful atmosphere of the Weasley breakfast table, she'd been able to forget how lonely she was, suddenly. Draco… he could be anywhere. Ryua was pretty sure he wasn't dead, but past that… she didn't know. And her beloved Parsyl, her dear, loyal, beautiful snake was dead. Dead in a moment of vengeful hate… dead without any reason at all, without even having a fair chance at fighting for life…

She started out of her dark musings when Ron's trunk tumbled down the stairs, and she smiled again as Ginny started berating him for trying to squish her. It was a small, shallow smile, but at least it was a step in the right direction. Ryua shook her head and stood up unsteadily, taking Dumbledore's offered hand. "We're going to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Ryua," he said. "The Order Headquarters."

"… Thanks, sir," Ryua said, quietly. She knew just how much he was risking, letting her in. "I… I'm glad you believe you can trust me…"

"I know I can," Dumbledore said, smiling gently. "Now come, let's get you settled at the Headquarters…"

Author's Note: … Well, last chapter, Rohan complained that my chapters were getting short… The last one was three pages! And the two before that were four… so I made this one five pages. Please keep in mind that I've been stressed by finals, which gives me a legitimate excuse for the slow updates and shorter chapters…

I'd like to say thanks to JeannieBeannie, who has been reviewing every chapter of everything I posted, and even went to my art page and reviewed stuff there! Thank you so much, it really kept me motivated, even though my other reviewers have left me… wails So, thank you for making my day!

Oh, and just a note... I was considering putting in a lemon or two, now that Ryua's old enough to have one... What do you think?


	6. Grimmauld Place

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Grimmauld Place

The journey through the floo network, especially getting past all of the Order's safeguards, nearly finished Ryua off. She stumbled blindly out of the grate, vaguely aware that it was Snape who caught her. "She shouldn't have been moved yet, Dumbledore," he said, worriedly. "This trip was too hard on her…"

"…was not…" Ryua mumbled, her face muffled in his robes. She'd originally intended to raise her head before speaking, but never got around to it…

"Perhaps," Dumbledore replied, stroking his beard. "But she's here now, and I'll sleep better knowing that."

"I suppose you're right about that…" Snape said, picking Ryua up and walking out of the path of the fireplace; the Weasleys had started to arrive, rapidly filling the room. "Well, let's get them all settled then."

Ryua was going to protest at being carried, but then decided that she was far too comfortable. She curled up, nestling against Snape's robes. He smelled kinda like peppermint, he must have been making wake-up potions…

She grumbled slightly when he put her down, because she was suddenly cold… but then she felt lots of lovely blankets covering her, and she happily snuggled down, curling completely into a little ball.

Snape glared at the Gryffindor trio until they dropped their bags on their beds and left. Satisfied that Ryua would get a good rest, he strode out. Not that Ryua noticed, because by this point, she wasn't noticing much at all except the warm, soft bed…

When Ryua next managed to open her eyes, it was almost completely dark, with just a hint of pink outside the window. Disgusted with herself for not even paying attention to where she was, Ryua sat up, then leaned hastily back onto her elbow. She'd gotten quite a head rush from sitting up so fast, although she didn't feel too tired or sore.

There were three other beds… and Ryua recognized Pig and Hedwig's cages on top of two trunks. That satisfied the question of who she was with… and Dumbledore had told her where. She recognized the address as the Black manor… interesting choice for Headquarters. _I wonder who owns it now?_ With Sirius, the male heir, dead, and the rest of the Blacks on the run from the ministry… possibly he'd left it to Harry. Technically… if all the Black family were disowned, dead, or banished, the Malfoys stood to inherit because of Narcissa's marriage… Hah. What a pretty pickle that would make; the Order of the Phoenix inherited by Lucius Malfoy. She'd better bring that up sometime…

Her dizziness past, Ryua pushed herself upright again. The light coming from the window seemed to be a little brighter… must be morning then. Hopefully just tomorrow morning, Ryua didn't like the idea that she'd been sleeping for more than a day. A glance out the window proved her location, she recognized the London townscape. Crookshanks leapt quietly up to the windowsill, demanding attention. Ryua obliged, absently scratching behind his ears as her mind roved.

A lot had happened, these last few days. There was the obvious stuff, like being attacked, attacking back, losing her snake, coming to the Weasleys… but that wasn't all of it. She'd changed… and she wasn't completely sure if it was for the better, entirely. Ryua had been furious before, and she was always going to fight if there was a threat. That wasn't what had bothered her… even killing Lestrange hadn't bothered her; She had been sure she was dying… could feel her life draining away, and it only seemed natural to want to do something with her last few moments. _If Pig hadn't been fluttering by at just that moment…_ She shuddered. There'd have been two smears of blood and wood on the cliff for the seagulls to pick at.

But the way she'd felt when she'd been fighting Lucius… now that had been different. She hadn't just felt an adrenaline rush… or even triumph or pride that she'd finally been able to beat him. Instead of something wholesome, she'd felt a rush of something else… dirtier, darker. She'd _enjoyed_ hurting him, had drank in his screams like an alcoholic would drain a bottle of strong rum, and was actually depressed when it was over. A part of her, a part that she'd hoped she hadn't inherited… although she knew deep down that it was there… part of her loved it. And she'd almost felt regret, when she had decided to kill him. She'd been sorry that he hadn't held up longer… and was mad too. _She _had held up longer, and more often, and she'd felt cheated that her payback hadn't been long enough to pour all her pain back into him…

With a shock, she realized she'd never be able to give it back, there was no conceivable way that she could curse the years of pain and hate away. …but she wanted to try. And try… and keep exacting revenge on Lucius until his pathetic, loathsome life wasted away…

With an angry yowl, Crookshanks sunk his claws into Ryua's hand. Startled, she jerked it up, horrified at how hard she'd been digging her fingers into his body. He shook himself, washed a bit to force his matted fur back into place, and glowered at her before jumping down with his tail in the air.

Furiously, Ryua shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts she both detested and enjoyed… She was better than that. Lucius thought like that, she'd seen his addiction to torture and domination in his eyes over and over. Her muscles tensed at the memory, the muscles in her back rippling under the scarred skin, her hands clenching, worrying over the raised scars on her palms. Her shoulders hunched, trembling, and she felt the fabric of her loose shirt slip off one side. She vaguely wanted to push it back up, cover the scar she knew crossed down from the side of her arm to the center of her spine, but was too busy fighting down her rage, forcing her magic back under control, to move her hand.

She was so engrossed that she didn't hear soft footsteps behind her, and jumped when a cool hand rested on her bare shoulder. Whirling around, her magic flared aggressively, then dropped hastily down to safe levels when she saw the morning light glinting off Harry's glasses. "Don't _do_ that," Ryua said, gasping. "I just about killed you!"

He looked down at her contritely. "Sorry… I didn't mean to startle you," he said quietly, so as not to wake up the other two. His fingers gently traced the scar along her shoulder "Was this from…"

"Yeah. Nasty fight." Ryua said quickly, shrugging her shirt back up. She wasn't about to tell him that scar was two years old. He didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry." Harry said, quite suddenly.

"For what?" Ryua asked, turning to look at him. "If I recall, it was a pack of Death Eaters that attacked me, not you."

"I know," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders carefully, to avoid jarring any healing injuries. "But I'm still sorry that you were hurt."

Ryua leaned against him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered. Her throat had tightened at his words, for some reason she couldn't understand. It was a nice thing to have someone care, it shouldn't make her upset…

Ron made a particularly disgusting snore at that point, shattering the mood and shocking Hermione awake. She threw a slipper at him, which made absolutely no impact, and sat up. She saw Harry and Ryua, who'd turned her head to look over Harry's shoulder, at the window, and grinned sheepishly. "Oh… morning," she said, positive she'd woken up into something embarrassing.

Ryua laughed, ducking out of Harry's arm. "Good morning. Does Ron do that all the time?"

"Mostly," Harry said, also smiling. "And none of us have been able to stop him…"

"Have you tried silencing charms? I use them all the time on Millicent," Ryua said, pulling her wand out from under her pillow and casting one. Immediately, the rhythmic grating sounds disappeared, although Ron didn't appear too notice…

"Well, that's a brilliant notion!" Harry said happily. "He does that all year long, it's been keeping the lot of us up for years. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it."

Ryua grinned, sitting back down on her bed. "Always glad to help… just be careful that you take it off before he wakes up. Although, I bet Ron wouldn't get quite so nasty as Millicent does…"

"Yeah, probably," Hermione said, pulling on a housecoat as she got out of bed. "Especially if Mrs. Weasley has been up cooking already…"

"Breakfast?" Ryua asked, perking up with a grin.

"Yeah," Harry said enthusiastically. "Let's go get some…" he pulled on a slightly rumpled school robe to cover his pajamas, and disappeared immediately.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione passed Ryua a robe too, saying, "There's still something wrong with the heat in this house, it's rather chilly. Of course, fresh baked raspberry muffins go a long way towards fixing that…"

Eagerly, Ryua followed her, kindly removing Ron's silencing charm on the way out and wincing at the snores. Once she saw the incredible pile of beautiful muffins, accompanied by almost as many different kinds of jams and cheeses, she kind of forgot about anything else for a half hour or so…

With a shock, Ryua noticed that there was suddenly a stack of muffin papers as high as her hand beside her plate, but then shrugged and grabbed another one, having a brief slapping fight with Charlie over a particularly berry-filled one. Eventually, of course, the entire enormous platter was consumed, by various students and Order members, and everyone sat back for a few moments, unable to do much other than digest and compliment Mrs. Weasley on her cooking. Smiling, she cheerfully tidied up the empty dishes, patting each of them on the head from Ginny up through Dumbledore as she picked up each plate.

Ryua forced herself up to help, stacking some jars of jam up and following her into the kitchen. "Thanks for breakfast, Mrs. Weasley. If you'd ever like some help, I like cooking, I'd love to give you a hand…"

"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing," she said, patting her cheek and stacking the jam in the fridge. "That would be very nice of you! But…" and here she closed the door, putting a privacy charm on it. "I have some things I'd like to talk to you about right now."

Sighing, Ryua picked up a tea towel, figuring she might as well help clean while she was being questioned. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Well first, how are you feeling, dear? Everything knitting all right? I was a bit worried about that arm, it was rather messy…"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryua smiled. "Just fine, thanks. You did a great job. And all those little cuts…"

"And not so little cuts…"

"Yeah," Ryua said, unconsciously touching her cheek, tracing her newest scar. "They're completely healed up. I'm amazed…"

"It's nothing more than any half-trained newbie healer couldn't do." Molly said, jerkily putting washed plates into the rack. "Which brings up something else." She turned to Ryua, gently forcing her to meet her gaze, her hand under her chin. "Who has been doing this to you?"

Ryua tried to look away, but was unwilling to hurt the gentle older woman. "It's all old stuff, happened in the past, doesn't matter now…" she said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Molly put her hands on her hips, glaring, and for a second, Ryua was more afraid than she'd ever been of Lord Voldemort. "It does matter dear. I'm not going to hurt you, you know," she said, shaking her head, auburn curls bouncing.

Ryua clenched her jaw, turning away to mechanically dry plates. All her life, she'd never told a soul, certainly never wanted too. And now, here was this sweet, round, mother figure, gently blocking her escape until she came clean. She just stood there not saying anything, maybe guessing just how much Ryua had to fight to get any words out. "Lucius, mostly," Ryua said, a few minutes later. The skin on her back twitched, tensing with the admission. "The pockmarks on this arm," she shrugged it, "are from Voldemort exploding a coffee table the night he killed my mother… The words on my hands are a combination of Lucius and Umbridge… Oh, and the scars on my wrists are from Blaise Zabini. The misshaped bones in my hand were from dropping a quartz globe on it… and Lucius decided he ought to play with it afterwards of course…

"And you know where the rest came from," Ryua finished, stacking the last of the dried plates on the counter. It was brief, but she didn't exactly feel like going into detail; it was already far more than she'd ever told anyone. And she felt curiously numb, like it had happened to someone else, her emotions perfectly calm.

"You poor, poor thing," Mrs. Weasley said, tears in her eyes from the thought of a parent so injuring a child. "I'm so, so sorry. Why didn't you ever tell any of us?"

Ryua shrugged. Quite honestly, she didn't know. Maybe some misguided loyalty to Lucius, maybe she hadn't wanted to seem weak… none of them seemed like any decent reasons now.

"Well, you aren't ever going back now," Molly said sternly. "If I have to adopt you, or sue Lucius on child abuse, or… or… marry you to one of my sons, you are staying _here!_" Very abruptly, in the determined, certain, loving way she had, she hugged Ryua tightly around the middle, then bustled out, too overcome with emotion to hold still. For her part, Ryua stood in the kitchen, trying to assimilate what exactly had just happened. It was a good thing… she thought…

Author's Note: Heh. Sorry about the seriously long wait, people. I had three pages written on Monday, and I hated them so much that I deleted them all and started over… and hated those enough that it took me a week to get them the way I liked. Oh. Well. Anybody have any suggestions at all? I really need some ideas for the school year… or updates will be even slower… since I won't have anything to write at all. I've gotten to the point where I don't even know if I'll get reviews or not. It's depressing, and getting hard to write stuff, if I think no one's reading it.

So, would somebody _please _write a review? Even just to say that you're still reading? Because I'm starting to lose interest, it feels like no one cares anymore…

And to JeanieBeanie, thank you so much for all your support, it's been nice knowing I have someone I can rely on!


	7. Fitting In

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Fitting In

Once Ryua stopped thinking of her encounter with Molly Weasley in the kitchen, she found herself eminently able to enjoy herself. She joined Fred and George in their pranking, and showed them a few curses with interesting effects for various trick candies in the future… after which she vowed never to eat anything of their making. Feeding it to people would be a different story, of course…

Within a week, she'd managed to sneak into Bill and Fleur's room, setting a heat-sensitive jinx on the furniture. Much to Fred and George's delight, every time the two of them spent the night, sparks flew from whichever piece of furniture happened to be… in use. Naturally, they'd planted their own test fireworks throughout the room…

It was about 1:30 AM when they came bursting out of the room, slightly scorched, very harried, and stark naked… to see Fred, George, Ginny, and Ryua waiting with wizard cameras at the ready. Fleur, absolutely furious, had started flinging Veela fireballs at them… so Ryua cheerfully put up a shield, which sent fireballs bouncing in all directions… which collided with walls. Being stone, the walls didn't mind much, although some of the tapestries came off rather badly. And a curtain… and much of the floorboards… and a chest of drawers… and the last of Fred and George's firecrackers…

Mrs. Weasley promptly grounded all six of them.

Bill tried to protest, sort of… and then decided he had no chance of changing his mother's decision. Fleur made the same protests, they were adults, they shouldn't be punished for acting like it… and then subdued when a sleepily amused Lupin pointed out that it was her fireballs that had trashed the corridor.

Fred and George didn't seem to mind; it was apparently something they'd had a lot of practice with. Ginny was likewise not perturbed… although Ryua was different. "So… Gin. What exactly occurs now that we're grounded?" she asked on the way back to their rooms, where Mrs. Weasley had furiously sent them. The only parental 'discipline' she'd ever had before usually involved blood and pain…

"Um… mostly, we ought to just stay out of her sight… she'll have probably forgotten about it by supper anyways," Ginny replied cheerfully.

"Oh." Much better than Lucius…

"And you and I should be back in her good books by lunch, maybe earlier if we help with dishes… She's still convinced that Fred and George are the real troublemakers, and just drag us poor innocents along in their diabolical plans!"

"Sweet," Ryua said, grinning. "If only she knew…"

Ginny was right, after the two of them volunteered for dishes, Molly completely forgave them. They spent a few hours poking around in the Black dungeons, looking for the forbidden and illegal objects Ryua knew had to be there. After all, if the Malfoy house had the dark ancestral inheritance, the Blacks definitely would. Ginny did manage to find an old torture room, managing to get herself stuck to a magical automatic rack. Luckily, she yelled the moment she was grabbed, and Ryua turned it off, scolded it sharply, and locked the doors before any other bored torture instruments decided to play.

Before they got into much else, however, an announcement of incoming Order members came over the magical intercoms. Ginny explained that it was standard operations now, so if they were injured or being chased or tracked, the whole house was prepared. "And," she put in darkly, "It's a signal from Mum to go to our rooms until she says we can come out…"

"Well… We'll have to go through the entrance hall to get to our rooms from here, no?" Ryua said, eyes sparkling.

"Why, you're quite right!" Ginny said laughing, "I guess we'd better get to our rooms on the double then,"

The two of them skipped merrily up the long sets of stairs, and waited very nicely in the shadows, out of the way, since the hall was crowded with familiar and strange people. Dumbledore was debriefing a tired, bratty looking pink-haired witch in one corner, "Tonks," Ginny whispered, pointing them all out in turn. "And Dung, Fred and George's favorite friend, you know Charlie and Snape, and… that's Card, one of the newest members. He's the one cleaning off his sword…"

A quiet, attentive-looking man stood in one corner, lovingly wiping congealing blood off of a blade, obviously magic-forged. "He looks like he could be a relative of yours…" Ryua muttered back. Indeed, he had a Weasley's red hair, blue eyes almost as pale as Ryua's, and the pale skin of the whole family.

"Nah. He's from another clan, one of the wizards Charlie's been conscripting from other countries. Cardington Greenbay's his name, but he hasn't been very chatty. Only Dumbledore and Charlie really know anything about him."

"That's good enough, really. If Dumbledore trusts him…" Ryua said, leaning back against the door frame. Luckily for them, Mrs. Weasley declared that lunch was ready, and everyone followed her with undivided attention. Ginny and Ryua casually slipped into step behind them, avoiding notice right up until they all had the customary squabble over seats.

Mrs. Weasley didn't even blink twice, just served everyone up huge bowls of hot beef barley soup, and numerous platters of biscuits. The rest of the house was miraculously seated before anyone ate more than a bite, of course, and the meal turned bright and cheerful. Tonks knocked over two pitchers of water, and tipped a plate of biscuits into Ron's lap over the course of the meal, making Ryua intensely pleased that she hadn't sat next to the clumsy Auror. Ron kept glaring at Ryua, since she was giggling at him, which only made her giggle more…

After they all ate far too much, the kids all got kicked out of the room so the adults could talk. George groaned as he heard his mother put a charm on the door, and Fred sighed, stuffing the Extendable Ears back in his pocket. "I keep hoping she'll forget…"

"Ah well. We've got those sweets to work on, remember?"

"Oh, the ones that do…"

"Yep! All we have to do…"

"Is fix the flavor,"

"Since no one will eat a candy that tastes like dung bombs…" The twins cheerfully walked off, chatting brightly about whatever diabolical invention they were cooking up at the moment. Shaking her head, Hermione flounced off, obviously perturbed that they were doing something potentially deadly again. Laughing, Ginny followed her, although whether to calm her down or irritate her more was anyone's guess.

Ryua glanced back to see Ron and Harry talking, Harry smiling and shaking his head, obviously not agreeing with whatever Ron was trying to say. Shrugging, she turned to follow Ginny and Hermione down the hall.

Without warning, she was hit from behind, and she stumbled forwards, fumbling for her wand. She yelped with surprise as fingers dug into her ribs, and she sent her assailant flying upwards to stick to the ceiling. Only then did she realize that the fingers hadn't been painful, and she hadn't been hit hard enough to disarm or knock her to the floor…

She heard a thump behind her, and she whirled around to see Harry hit the floor, laughing so hard he couldn't stand up. "I… I told you so…" he gasped, waving a finger in the vague direction of the ceiling. Biting her lip, trying to hide a smile, Ryua looked sheepishly up at the ceiling, where a shocked and flustered Ron was futiley trying to un-stick himself.

"Sorry Ron…" Ryua said, waving him down. She even set him nicely on his feet, instead of just dropping him. "You really can't sneak up on me like that…"

"Bloody Hell!" Ron said, eyes wide. "You're really on edge!"

Ryua barked a short laugh. "Ah… you could say that…" she said ruefully.

Ron turned to look at Harry, who had just forced himself to his feet, still giggling. "What're you laughing at?" he said, glaring. This promptly made Harry collapse with laughter again, and Ron stalked off into their room, slamming the door behind him.

Harry managed to choke down his laughter at the sound, looking merrily up at Ryua. "That was brilliant… I told him it wouldn't be a good idea… but Ron's never listened to anyone anyway…"

She grinned, still a little embarrassed at her overreaction. "Well… hopefully he won't do it again… He's lucky I was in such a good mood, he might have come off way worse…" This set Harry giggling again, although he was already sitting on the floor. "It's true! I'm on a hair trigger here… Quit laughing!" she said, trying to suppress her own laughter bubbling up. She reached down to smack him gently on the shoulder, her grin broadening.

"Can't… breathe…" Harry said, his green eyes bright, tearing up he was laughing so hard.

Ryua considered smacking him again, but it didn't seem to have done any good before. Laughing, although not nearly so hysterically, she sat down next to him. "Well, I don't think we're allowed in our room now…"

"Nah, guess not…" he replied, gasping for breath. "Cause Ron's in a snit…" he dissolved into giggles again, causing Ryua to look over quizzically at him.

"What was so funny about that?" she asked, grinning. Just because she didn't get the joke, didn't mean the laughter wasn't infectious.

"I… have absolutely no idea…" Harry said in between spurts of laughter.

"Dude, you're hyper…" Ryua said, shaking her head and chuckling at him. Not that it seemed to be such a bad thing, she rather liked this mood to most of the ones she'd ever been in.

"You're right though," he said, suddenly completely back in control. "Ron's not likely to want to see either of us for a couple of hours at least…"

"And Hermione and Ginny appear to be doing 'girl stuff'…" Ryua said, peering down the corridor they'd gone down. She still was a bit vague about what 'girl stuff' was, as she didn't spend much time with girls, outside of the Quidditch team. "If we go anywhere near Fred or George, I'd bet my wand that we'd become guinea pigs…"

"In fact, they're probably looking for some right now… Why don't we just leave Ron all alone up here, and go somewhere else?"

"Sounds brilliant!" Ryua said, grinning. "Me'n Ginny were working our way through the dungeons before lunch…"

And so they found themselves in the dungeons, peering into rooms, jumping back more often than not. "Yeesh. I thought my family was paranoid with the booby traps…" Ryua muttered as she blew up the fourth biting doorknob. And these weren't the joke doorknobs, these ones had fangs as long as a finger, tipped with poison.

"Makes me kind of glad I was raised Muggle… the worst thing that ever happened to me opening a door was a can of paint balanced on top…"

"One thing for Muggles; they're ingenious," Ryua remarked, carefully knocking bits of poisonous knob into a corner. She winced at another exploding stone in the floor; Harry had lobbed a piece of the late doorknob into the room, a hard-learned lesson. They'd both gotten slightly singed on the third room, before they knew to be quite so paranoid. Ryua sent a globe of werelight into the room, so they could check for anything else obvious before going in.

"You know, this would make a lot more sense if there'd _been _anything in these rooms," Harry sighed. Six trapped rooms, and the only thing they'd found was a nest of petrified dragon eggs. Ryua had pocketed some shells, of course, one never knew when the illegal stuff would be needed, and it was difficult even for someone like her to get.

"Looks like this one's a dud too… unless you need human bones for something," Ryua said, peering in. A skeleton lay crumpled on the floor, twisted into the most incredibly painful shape, fingernail scratches still visible on the door and walls. "Must've been a practice victim for torture…"

Harry shuddered. Ryua winced, apologetically. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you aren't used to this sort of thing…"

"Well… I've had a bit more of a sheltered upbringing…" Harry said, grinning, and carefully not looking at the skeleton. He paused, sighing. "I don't know how I'm going to manage."

"Manage? Manage what?"

"Voldemort. Apparently, I have to kill him, or he kills me…" Harry replied, leaning on the doorframe.

"And, no one would have been teaching you about the killing curses yet…"

"Fake Moody did, two years ago…"

Ryua shook her head. "Nah. He showed you what they looked like. The teachers aren't allowed to teach you stuff like that."

"Great." Harry hung his head with a sigh. "…I tried last summer… but I can't use any of the Unforgiveables…"

"Why not?" Ryua asked, leaning on the other side of the frame.

"Dunno. I tried to curse Bellatrix, but it didn't work… I think she said something about righteous anger, or something like that."

Ryua smiled, a dark, empty expression. "She's right. You can't just want revenge, or to set the balances equal… you have to really want to cause the pain, to hear the screams, to drink them up like a plant does sunlight… You have to know exactly what you're doing, what the spell's effects are, what they're supposed to do, what they are capable of, and… what you're capable of…" she broke off with a shudder, remembering her own exhilaration, her lust for pain.

Harry leaned forward, looking up at her face. "You… you really know, don't you?" he asked, quietly.

"Yeah." Ryua replied, just as quietly. Shaking her head, she looked up, forcing herself out of the dark places of her mind. "I should teach you," she said, as if her last little speech hadn't happened.

He seemed kind of taken aback at the abrupt change, and Ryua could tell that he wasn't going to forget it any time soon. "Teach me?" Harry asked, blankly.

"How to kill someone, how to keep yourself alive in a duel to the death… that sort of thing. Like the DA meetings… only much more intense, and not just defense anymore." Ryua said, thinking. "We could even work it into the DA, I suppose… but not as much as I want to teach you. I'd get expelled…"

"Oh." Harry said. He seemed slightly less than thrilled.

Ryua looked over at him. And for a split second, she could almost understand what it was like to be innocent, to be teetering on the brink, and not wanting to go any farther. For a moment, she almost wanted to say forget it, but then something else occurred to her. "Harry, if it's not me teaching you… it'll be Voldemort. And I want you alive and well, whereas his entire energy of life is poured into killing you slowly and painfully and thoroughly."

He grimaced at the thought. "Well, when you put it that way…"

She smiled, almost sadly. "But not right now. Not for a while yet. I want to enjoy my summer…"

Harry met her gaze, his eyes haunted, but with hope and excitement and joy there too. "Yeah. Speaking of which, if Mrs. Weasley catches us down here, we'll be grounded…"

"I guess it has been a couple hours…" Ryua said, biting her lip with a mischievous grin. "And I think I smell food anyway…"

Author's Note: I'm so, so sorry it's been taking so long. I have no time in my life anymore.

And thank you everyone, for letting me know you still care! It's important, it really is. Avalon, Rohan, Jason, HPF139 (I know what you mean about the computer problems...) my ever faithful JeanieBeanie... (I considered wating for the sixth book, but I dont' want to be giving spoilers this early on anyways... and I have no idea when I'll be able to get a copy of it!)

And Meeper! I have a new reviewer! I'm so happy. And, the puppy dog eyes work on me just fine... but not the various computers I need to update the story... Heh. And I'll tell you about Draco in a chapter or two!


	8. Stuff

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Stuff

Supper turned out to be an incredible cheese, sausage and noodle casserole, baked in a pot Ryua could have comfortably bathed in. Even the adults appeared to be relaxed for a change; Tonks making faces at whoever asked for one, Dung offering black market scarabs to the twins, Dumbledore playing "I Spy" with Ginny, Bill, and Charlie… it was a happy atmosphere. Naturally, the talking turned to Quidditch after a while, and of course everyone had their own bit to add on that.

"It still hurts how bad we got beat out of the last Cup…" Ron said, groaning. "At least Ireland carried on…"

"Ah, England just needs some decent players. Pity you didn't go for it, Charlie…"

"Me? No way! Give me a nice, safe dragon any day…"

"Well then, me'n Harry'll have to bulk up the team, eh?" Ron said, toasting his statement with enthusiasm.

"And me," Ryua said grinning. "Between the three of us, we'll take the cup every year!" She stopped, groaning. "Ah, no… I need a decent broom first. My old one's not fit for toothpicks anymore…"

Mrs. Weasley overheard her comment as she brought out her first platters of cookies. "Well dear, I think you ought to talk to Mr. Greenbay then. He's quite an accomplished broommaker…"

"Molly," the normally unemotional man groaned, "You can't go around telling random people about my life history…"

"Oh, do shush yourself, Card! It's not as if us knowing that you can make brooms will threaten your life…" Molly scolded, shaking a finger at him as if he were one of her errant children. "Now, since neither of you has had a formal introduction… Ryua Malfoy, this is Cardington Greenbay."

Ryua proffered her hand, and was vaguely surprised when he took it. Instead of a firm shake or a barely-acceptable brush of her fingers, he lifted her hand, planting a light kiss on the back of her knuckles. Startled, she automatically fell into her etiquette classes Narcissa had drilled into her head, inclining her head slightly in haughty acknowledgement. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Greenbay…"

"Please…" he said, grimacing. "Call me Card, I hate the name Greenbay."

Ryua smiled, suddenly herself again. "Alright then. Card… So, you make brooms?"

He smiled a little, picking up a cookie. "Yes. I've gotten quite good at it over the years… I do a lot of traveling."

"I see," she replied. Ryua picked up on the unspoken words; Card spent a lot of time on the move, but not necessarily by choice. "So, what would you charge to make me a custom racing broom?"

They continued on in that vein for a while, Ryua describing what she wanted it to be capable of, Card offering types of wood and styles of cuts… Eventually, he begged a reprise to go find a piece of parchment and a quill to write things down. Harry, seeing as Ron, Fred, and George had eaten the entire platter of cookies nearest him, leaned over Ryua's lap to take one from hers.

"Hey! You know, I would have passed you one…" Ryua said, cheerfully shoving him back into her own seat. _Not that I really mind…_she reflected. He smelled good… although she couldn't exactly describe it was, exactly. Just that she liked it.

He chuckled quietly, and just ate his cookie. Apparently, he didn't mind leaning over her either…

Card came back in, very calmly picking up another cookie as he sat down. Ryua noticed, however, that his eyes lit up in a rather childish manner when he started eating it. Apparently, even the most aloof, dignified people couldn't resist Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Unfortunately, his return seemed to signify another meeting, as Dumbledore handed Ginny a platter of cookies and waved all the students out the door. The customary popping sound of the privacy charms on the door made Ginny sigh with regret. Since Fred and George were adults now, and fully supporting themselves, they'd been able to fight Molly for their place in the order, leaving just Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ryua, and Ginny left out. Ginny naturally thought this incredibly unfair, and stalked off in a huff to go play with Fred and George's candy experiments. She'd been responsible for some of their most potent mixtures to date, and they cheerfully allowed their little sister access to their workshops at any time. Hermione forcibly dragged Ron off to start planning for school, both classes and prefect duties.

Harry shuddered. "You know… I'm kind of glad I wasn't made a prefect…"

"No kidding… I don't have that amount of energy."

He smiled, leaning on the wall facing her. "So… what was the kiss on the hand for earlier?"

"What? Oh, Card…" Ryua shrugged. "Just an archaic way of greeting a lady of higher or unsure status."

Harry blinked. "Did you quote that from a book or something?"

She giggled. "Actually… yes. _Veronica Castalia's Guide to Manners for Little Girls of High Birth."_

Another blink. "You had to read something like that?"

"Yeah… it was the dullest thing… that's why I started reading the illegal potions manuals."

"I could see why. Any book that could make a kiss seem something boring…" With a strange little smile, he picked up her hand, bringing it up to his lips.

It was much different than Card's kiss. She didn't know why, exactly, but it sent a delightful chill racing across her skin, raising goose bumps as it went. He raised his head slightly, looking up at her through a silky tangle of black hair. When he pulled gently on her hand, she stepped shyly towards him, leaning forwards to kiss him herself.

Harry released her hand, his arms snaking loosely around her waist instead, holding her lightly against him. He was always very conscious of how unused to physical contact she was, and so was always very careful that she not feel trapped or threatened.

So Ryua took him by complete surprise when she leaned into him, her hands on his shoulders, eagerly kissing him. She surprised herself, actually, at how demanding she was being, and how much she liked it. Her hand slid down over his chest, wrapping around to his back, letting her body press closer to him.

Taking this as a sign that she wasn't going to curse him any time soon, Harry held her closer, his hands exploring their way across her back and shoulders. He was vaguely irritated that she wore such a thick shirt; he could feel her warmth, but not her skin, the way her muscles rippled as she shifted against him. One hand slid lower, with the intention of slipping under the irritating cloth, but he was balked by the belt she'd needed to wear with the borrowed clothes. Oh well… his hand rested quite nicely on the curve of her hip anyways…

Ryua was completely lost in overwhelming physical sensation. When she breathed, she breathed in Harry's scent, she could hear his breath and heartbeat, and her body burned with an intense, exhilarating heat wherever it touched his. His hands, tracing over her back, sent her skin tingling, almost unbearably, but so enjoyable she never wanted him to stop. She was glad that he was braced against a wall, as she'd be no use whatsoever in keeping them upright. She was so swept away, so vulnerable, that Lucius himself could have come storming in the door and she wouldn't have been able to do more than stare. However, when Harry's tongue darted lightly in to brush her own, she froze solid.

His gentle, welcome hands were buried in echoes of rough, bruising fingers, her nose filled with sour breath, reminiscent of rotting food and unbrushed teeth… Ryua's mind filled in images she'd mostly forgotten, the dark dankness of the alley, the searing pain in her wrists, painfully gasping for breath that wouldn't come, and over it all, a horrendous sensation of being trapped, forced, helpless…

Her eyes flew open, half-expecting to see shadowed brick walls and cobwebby crates, Zabini's lustful, animalistic eyes glittering in the darkness. Instead, she saw worried, apologetic green eyes, felt Harry's hand come up to touch her cheek. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to startle you…" he said in a low, worried voice.

Ryua gasped, a sound that was almost a sob, and leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. _Why the hell am I being such a sissy? Zabini's as dead as I could make him… _"It's not your fault, Harry, sorry…"

"It's okay," he said, putting a hand gently on her head, stroking her hair. "If I ever do something you don't like, just say so, I'll stop."

She raised her head, looking at him, her mouth slightly open. _He'd do that?_ Something seemed to crack inside her, softening just a little in a place she wasn't even aware had been hard. "I… I… I don't know what I want to say…" she said, bemused, giggling a little hysterically.

"You don't have to say anything," he said, smiling at her.

Ryua's mind seemed to be a couple beats behind, but caught up with the rest of the world in an incredible rush. Deliberately, she pulled his head forward, meeting his lips with her own. Smiling slightly, she licked his lips, pushing deep enough to stroke along the side of his tongue when he opened his mouth in surprise. Pulling away so she could look him in the eyes, she said, "Thanks… knowing that… it's… damn it. Why can't I seem to finish my sen…"

She was cut off by one of Harry's fingers lightly pressing on her lips. "I think you should just stop talking then," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again. Feeling rather light-headed and giddy, she heartily agreed with him.

Author's Note: Damn, that was hard to write. I kept having people walk in while I was writing… very distracting. I'm so proud of the title… NOT! I couldn't think of anything… and now I'm rambling.

So, please tell me whatcha think!

And in response to a couple questions… I'm not going to follow the story of the sixth book. I might add in a couple things from it, if I really like them, or if they really fit with the story. I've got ideas that just don't tally with her story anymore.

I still bow to J K Rowling as the ultimate Harry Potter Goddess, but it's about time I stood on my own two legs, no?


	9. Draco

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Draco

Later that evening, Mrs. Weasley came bustling around their various rooms with hot chocolate and scones before bed. Ginny managed to be completely far away from Fred and George's room, Ryua was innocently trying to teach Harry how to make a Draught of Living Death, and Hermione was still trying to make Ron concentrate on schoolwork. "Honestly, Ron, the classes we'll be taking this year are the most important yet!"

"Hermione, you say that every year…" Ron groaned. "Make up your mind already!"

She glared at him, trying to voice arguments that he would never listen to anyways. Luckily, they were all saved from too much lecturing by the arrival of Mrs. Weasley's snacks, after which she sent them all to bed. Somehow, none of them argued. She was just not a person one argued with, it didn't seem healthy. Although, Harry did give Ryua a goodnight kiss that left her head spinning and caused Ron to applaud from across the room.

Ryua hoped very much that she'd dream of that all night long. She'd been having restless nights off and on all week, although she couldn't remember what she was dreaming of.

She wasn't entirely aware of when she fell asleep, just that the remembered warmth of Harry's hands suddenly became more believable, and they were together somewhere in Hogwarts… And then Harry suggested that they go get ice cream. So, apparently, they were in Diagon Alley, heading for Florence Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Ryua walked out of the Leaky Cauldron, where she'd been spending a night. She checked the streets nonchalantly, making sure there weren't any Death Eaters in the crowds. There was no one behind her either, although suddenly the fact that she'd just been with Harry didn't matter. Her dreaming mind seemed to think she'd been alone to begin with, so it wasn't strange that she was alone now. Mentally shrugging, she accepted it, though since her body seemed to be walking on it's own, she had no real choice.

It was late, late enough that the sun was going down, and most people were leaving the streets. Fortescue was just getting ready to shut down, handing out his final few sundaes before closing his door. By the time Ryua got to the counter, it was just her, Fortescue, and a little girl that bore quite a resemblance to the vendor. Maybe a niece or… _Granddaughter_, her mind supplied. Yes, sweet little thing, no more than three or four… she grinned and waved up at Ryua, her mouth covered in chocolate. Ryua smiled down, ruffling the girl's hair, and accepted a bowl of maple nut ice cream from Fortescue. "Always had a soft spot for Hogwarts students, yes I have…" he said.

The ice cream was wonderfully sweet and cold, and Ryua just closed her eyes, savouring it a moment. Then, her mind clicked into panic mode. She never tasted in her dreams, and certainly not temperature. She tried to open her eyes, and it happened a few moments later than she intended. With a shock, she realized that she couldn't actually move on her own, not even the blink of an eye…

"And how are you tonight, my lad?" asked Fortescue, pulling out a chair and sitting down. _Lad? Lad? What the hell is going on here…_

"Just fine, Florence," Ryua said… but in a voice subtly different from her own. She had a low rich voice for a girl, but this was a man's voice, so similar to her own that she could copy it with little effort.

So she knew what Fortescue's response would be. "Good to hear, Draco, good to hear." The older man sighed. "To tell you the truth, I'm considering closing up shop."

"What? Why?" Ryua, or rather, Draco asked while eating more ice cream.

"Things are getting too turbulent, for my tastes. I want to grow old, watch my grandchildren go to Hogwarts, grow up, maybe see my great grandchildren. There have been too many disturbances here, and many of the shops have closed…" Through Draco, Ryua realized he was right; this and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes were the only pure pleasure shops still open. For a moment, they all three sat, contemplating ice cream, pretending the world was still good.

Then, Draco heard something, his hypertense senses attuned as highly as Ryua's. He hoarsely whispered, "Get out of here, now!" as he drew his wand, flicking the lights out with a gesture. With the interior darker than the street, he had a momentary sight advantage, and with a sinking feeling, saw the only people moving were hooded and cloaked in black. Florence was taking his granddaughter quietly back to the alley entrance, locking doors and windows as he went. Draco started to trail them, speeding up as he heard Death Eaters start in on the front door. "Go!" he hissed, using a tub of vanilla ice cream to break open a back window after casting a silencing charm on it. Gingerly poking shards of glass out, he heaved the tiny little girl through easily. He heard her hit the ground outside, muffle a cry, and then scuffle to her feet.

"Don't wait for us, go to Weasley's!" Florence called softly, naming a place that would be undoubtably safe against a Death Eater attack. A splintering sound told them that the front doorframe had given way, and the Death Eaters were swarming into the shop. They didn't bother to be silent, wanting to create as much fear as possible, and confident that their prey couldn't escape. _Probably right…_Ryua wasn't quite sure whether the thought came from her or Draco.

Draco shoved the magical freezer in front of the door, and heard Fortescue pushing a table under the window so he could escape through it. Behind the blocked kitchen door, he heard muffled voices yelling angrily, and the door shuddered ominously. "Hurry up!" Draco hissed, strengthening the door with a pathetically weak charm. His charms were almost as bad as his sister's…

An authoritative shout came from the front room, and Draco ducked back, as he knew the Death Eaters on the other side must be doing. The door started to bow inward, the wood straining, creaking, splintering, and finally exploding. Visions of Narcissa impaled by pieces of wood made Draco duck behind a cupboard. People in black robes swarmed through the door, and Bellatrix's clear voice shouted "Sectumsempra!", catching Fortescue halfway out the window. From the amount of blood pouring from two deep rents on his back, he had less than a minute to live.

Draco prayed to whoever might be listening that the little Fortescue girl was all the way to Weasleys' shop by now, and wondered how he was going to get out of the shop alive… His fear was contagious, the effort to keep his labored breathing silent hurt her lungs as well, and when Crabbe came stumping around the cabinet, probably looking for food…

"Relashio!" Ryua shrieked, vaulting forward on the tail of her spell. She had to get past Crabbe, avoid Bella, definitely avoid Lucius… and suddenly she was trapped, hung up in something, and it was too dark to see… She writhed, desperately trying to free her entangled limbs, and when a hand clamped down on her arm, she sent them flying with an impedimentia…

"Ryua!" A shout, accompanied by a stinging slap shocked her into wakefulness. Gasping, she illuminated her wand, and saw an irate Hermione leaning over her, hand raised for a second smack. Across the room, Ron was nursing a nasty looking burned arm and chest, trying to revive Harry.

"Oh, Ron, I'm so sorry…" Ryua groaned, disentangling herself from her blankets and going over to help with Harry. "You should go see your mother… enervate!" She flicked her wand down at Harry. It wasn't quite the right spell, but it worked on anyone stunned or lightly unconscious. He winced, feeling the back of his skull gingerly. Ryua breathed a sigh of relief when his hand came away clean, sitting down very solidly on the floor. "I'm really, really sorry…"

"Must've been some dream," Ron said ruefully, trying to smack Hermione's wand away from his raw skin. She glared at him, and he settled down, letting her heal the burns over.

"It… it was. I don't think it was a dream though…" Ryua said, still sitting exhausted on the floor. She explained her dream, emphasizing how certain she was that it actually happened. When she was done, however, she saw the hidden looks of skepticism on her friends' faces.

"I don't know, Ryua…" Hermione said, biting her lip. "I mean… reading people's minds isn't exactly commonplace…"

"I've done it, though," Harry put in, frowning. "Last year, I kept getting flashes of Voldemort's experiences when I was asleep."

"But the two of you are, like… connected or whatever," Ron said, prodding his newly grown skin.

"Draco's my twin, Ron. We can always feel when the other's hurt, and usually pick up strong emotions too. You've got Fred and George, you must know what I'm talking about," Ryua said, trying to work up the energy to climb back into her bed.

"I suppose we could ask them…" Ron said doubtfully. "Although I don't think they've every read each other's minds… but now that I have an excuse to wake them up, I think I ought to use it."

"They're not here tonight, Ron," Hermione said. "Remember? They said they wanted to work a little more on those shield necklaces at the shop…"

"Well, it'll just have to wait until morning then," Ryua said, forcing herself off of the comfortable floor so she could lay down in her bed again. "I'm utterly exhausted… You sure you three are okay?" She looked at them apologeticly.

"Yeah, we're fine. Next time you have a bad dream, though, I'm waking you up with a cold water charm…" Ron said, eying her wand with some apprehension. "And I'm not sleeping across from you anymore, I'll switch with Harry…"

"Sorry…" Ryua mumbled from her pillow. She was extremely tired, like… like she'd just been in a battle with Death Eaters. _Weird…_ was the last thought going through her mind before she fell completely asleep.

She woke up the next morning to a bright and cheerful looking summer's morning. _Still two weeks left…_ and for once, she was glad of all the vacation. For the first time she could remember, she was really and truly enjoying her vacation.

Borrowing one of Harry's school robes to cover Ginny's old pyjamas, Ryua padded downstairs, smelling muffins or some such thing baking. _I suppose I really ought to get to Diagon Alley myself soon…_ It was frustrating, not having any of her own clothes to wear. Or books to do homework, or a broom to practice on, or a pet of her own to pamper…

Ryua walked into the kitchen, her eyes closed, savoring the rich, cinnamony aroma of Mrs. Weasley's latest concoction. She stretched, yawning a bit, and opened her eyes, seeing a batch of apple cinnamon muffins already baked on a counter, and several more lined up ready to go in the oven. And then she saw Mrs. Weasley herself, bending over someone in a chair, saying, "Here you go, dear, eat up. That'll make it all seem brighter, it will…"

In the chair, tiny white hands clasped around a muffin, huge eyes still swimming with terrified tears, was the youngest Fortescue girl. Ryua froze, wondering how on earth that little girl she'd dreamed about could be here, and then Fred and George came out from the pantry, each juggling jars of jam.

"Ah, that'll set you right indeed," Fred said, grinning as cheerfully as he could at the little girl.

"Mum makes the best muffins in all of England!" George said, an identically forced grin on his face.

Ryua sidled over to them, peeling the paper cup off a muffin as she went. "Where'd you get the girl?" she murmured, not able to take her eyes off her.

"Came stumbling up to our shop an hour after nightfall, tears rolling down her cheeks, looking like the hounds of hell were after her," Fred said quietly.

"Knocked on our door all polite too… she'd been there earlier that day, with her grandpa."

"Had a thing for the pygmypuffs…"

"Fred slipped one into her pocket, she looked fit to explode with giggles…"

"Anyway, she showed up, so we let her in, a'course…"

"Let her play with the pygmypuffs some, asked her what was wrong…"

"She said bad men had come to her granddaddy's shop, and a nice boy with vanilla hair threw her out a window,"

"She showed us scratches, where she fell on the glass, but had the pluck to get all the way through Diagon Alley after curfew."

Fred sighed, shaking his head. "Felt awful, but the most we could do was booby trap our doors and sit tight till dawn. We could hear the fight from all the way up the street… someone was giving the Death Eaters a pretty decent fight."

"We threw some of our experimental itching powder out the second-floor windows when they passed under us later on. They'll have boils the size of teacups for two weeks, all purple and green… And they were carrying injured or dead before that too." George said, a hint of his old mischief in his eyes. "Soon as the sky started to lighten, we hightailed it back here. Didn't get a chance to check the shop, we'd probably be arrested for it anyway."

"Fortescue's dead," Ryua said glumly. "Draco was the boy who threw her out the window."

"How do you… never mind…" Fred said, shaking his head. "Think Draco's okay?"

Surprising herself, Ryua actually smiled. She loved having someone completely understand how she felt, especially since she'd be hard-pressed to explain a twin bond. "Well, I woke up pretty violently at the beginning of the fight… but I think he's okay. I mean, we've always been able to tell if the other's badly hurt, I'm sure I'd know if he were dead…"

"Yeah, I think you would," George said comfortingly. "He'll be fine. And you need another muffin…"

Ryua laughed, although it was true. She'd eaten every crumb of it, and had been in the process of picking all the tasty little crunchy bits off of the paper while they were talking. When she sat down at the table, a plate heaped with muffins in front of her, the little girl finally spoke. "You look like Draco," she said. "Are you his sister?"

"Yeah. I'm Ryua. What's your name?" Ryua asked, smothering a muffin in strawberry jam for her.

She took it, wide-eyed. "Sasha… Your brother threw me out a window."

The statement sounded so odd that Ryua snorted with laughter. Luckily, it was the contagious kind, and Sasha giggled instead of bursting into the tears that had been lurking behind her eyes. "Yeah, that's the sort of thing brothers do. Cause boys are weird!" Unable to help herself, Ryua ruffled Sasha's hair.

She scowled cutely, batting at Ryua's hand. "Is that a thing you Malfoys do? Draco did it all the time, he even got chocolate syrup in it once…"

"Yes, he's a brat. But, being a brat means he's a good fighter. No big mean Death Eaters are gonna beat him up!" Ryua said, hoping very much that it was true.

Remus came in just then, grabbing a double fistful of muffins. He dumped a rumpled copy of the Daily Prophet on the table and tore into his breakfast with the abandon of a true werewolf. "Tough night, Remus?" Molly asked, slicing him some sausage and cheese to go with the muffins. He grunted; apparently he'd been doing a night shift again, and it was just after a full moon. _Poor guy…_

"Hey, maybe there's something in the paper!" Sasha sqeaked, reaching for it.

"Good idea," Deftly, Ryua scooped it up, thinking a little girl didn't need to read about her grandfather's murder on the front page… and sure enough, the headline read 'Incedent at the Icecream Shop'. Ryua scanned it wordlessly, handing the front page to Mrs. Weasley; a mother should break that kind of news to a girl… and kept reading the continued story on page two. Halfway down the page, she saw what she was looking for; a single survivor, badly cursed and now interred in St. Mungoes. It appeared that he fought for his life, the kitchen door had been blasted open… blah, blah, blah… the author seemed intent on making the readers suspenseful, withholding the name… ah. Lucius Malfoy was expected to make a full recovery…

_Lucius?_ Ryua thought, shaking her head and reading the paragraph again. No doubt about it, Lucius Malfoy was the name printed. She scanned the rest of the article; blood from at least three different people was found splattered throughout the kitchen, so it was assumed that he'd injured several Death Eaters in the fight, possibly allowing time for the missing youngest Fortestcue to escape… "Fred? George? This wouldn't be a joke newspaper… would it?"

"Hmm?" Fred said, leaning over. "Nah, haven't figured out how to get the right ink yet, why?"

"Lucius is in St. Mungoes. He's being made out as a tragic victim right now, and it looks like he's set up to be a hero, once people find out she's alive," Ryua said, gesturing at a now hysterically sobbing Sasha in Mrs. Weasley's arms. "And no mention of Draco, although I bet at least one blood sample is his…"

Remus looked up from licking his muffin papers off. "Draco? What was he doing with a gang of Death Eaters?"

"He wasn't with a gang of Death Eaters, he was on the run from them. He was the one at Fortescue's shop, not Lucius… Lucius chased us out of the house last week after escaping from Azkaban." Ryua said, starting to get in a quite bad mood.

"Strange… it's pretty risky leaving a Death Eater out in the open like that… I think we'd better inform Dumbledore of this," Remus said, pushing himself wearily up from his chair. "I'll take you to him."

Ryua followed him through the halls, coming to a door she'd somehow just not noticed before. "Sweet Tarts," Remus said, walking through the obediently opening door. "Dumbledore, have you seen the newspaper yet?"

Albus Dumbledore sat behind a rather cluttered desk, looking harried and depressed. Ryua didn't blame him; she'd be depressed with reading that many old, mouldering books too. "The Prophet? No, not yet… A good morning to you, Ryua," he said, nodding to her and happily dropping a heavy, ancient looking textbook onto a pile.

"Yes sir… Fortescue's shop was attacked, he's dead, his granddaughter was brought here by Fred and George… and Lucius is being framed as the tragic, sole surviving victim." Ryua said, too worked up to wait on pleasantries.

Sighing, Dumbledore sat down. He'd obviously been hoping for a nice, quiet visit… "Just what we need…"

"Draco was at the shop when they attacked… he's not mentioned at all in the article…" Ryua put in, worried. "I should have been trying to find him before this…"

"Ryua, calm down," Dumbledore said kindly, but firmly. "We'd been looking for him ever since you showed up, and only saw him a handful of times. He never stayed in one place for more than a day or two. You would have probably had no better luck." He waved Remus out, who looked immensely relieved and left for his bed. "And I do not believe that he is harmed."

"How can you say that, sir?" Ryua said, getting more worked up by his calmness.

"Was your mother not murdered by Lord Voldemort last Christmas?"

Taken aback, Ryua said, "Uh… yeah. What's the big deal?"

"How? What were the circumstances? _What did she say_?"

Wincing slightly at having to remember the evening, Ryua started to describe it. "Well, I was being a bloody idiot; I'd mouthed off at Voldemort. He was torturing me… our mother kicked Lucius between the legs, stole his wand, and burned Voldemort…"

"Oh dear…"

"Yeah. She said something about how they'd never touch us, even though she'd never stood up to anything in her life, and she was shaking like a leaf, she was standing there, Lucius wand pointed at the Dark Lord…" Ryua swallowed, remembering how strange it had been to see Narcissa so, so… _powerful_… strange, and a little exhilarating, really. "And then he exploded a table… she forced Draco and me to the floor, covered us… she bled to death, broken and torn… I held her…"

He'd come over from his side of the desk sometime, and patted her gently on the shoulder. "Something no one should have to do, although I'm sure it made her passing easier. But you said she said they'd never touch you?"

"Yeah… she said 'you will never touch my children.' Why is that important?" Ryua asked, confused.

"It's a brand of magic that Lord Voldemort thankfully continues to ignore; the magic bound in the love one being can hold for another. Unfortunately, since it was tied to a specific statement, and to both of you… I do not know how deep the protection runs. You may be protected by life, as Harry is, although I doubt it."

"Yeah, she was never the most powerful witch…"

"But she did care for you, and died for you. Therefore, you have some level of protection. I believe that the reason you were not pursued or tracked that night was because of your mother… and I also believe that it hasn't worn off yet."

"Well that's good," Ryua said, relieved that Draco was probably still protected, and glad to have figured out something nagging at her for months. "But… you said yet…"

"Yes, yet," he said, sighing sadly. "Since her magic was bound to the statement, there are ways to outwit any rule such as that."

"Like… we won't be children forever?"

"Yes. Or perhaps he could force the magic to accept that you are Lucius's children instead or… any number of sly, cruel loopholes." Dumbledore said sadly. "But for now, you are both still underage, and Draco is more your mother's child than your father's… so he should be fine."

"Good." Ryua said, sitting down in a chair. She then remembered the other reason for her being here."So, what's Lucius playing at now?"

"That, I cannot say," Dumbledore said, pursing his lips. "And the Ministry will not listen to me, especially in such a time as this. Until a new Minister is elected, nobody is likely to listen to me. We shall just have to watch carefully."

Author's Note: Yeesh. Sorry it took so long, guys… I was busy every night last week, and we had a stupid family reunion all weekend… and then I was busy Monday, and Wednesday… and Thursday, I honestly tried to update, I walked all the way to the library… only to find that the Librarian was taking the day off. And then I had to leave Friday right after work for a second, yes, another family reunion. So… My sincerest apologies… but please believe me, I have about 120 author alerts to go through now, I'm not the least bit happy either.

So, here's a nice long chapter, hopefully filled with all sorts of fun little bits that you'll all enjoy… and can any of you tell what Lucius _is_ playing at?

And... I just got anforward saying that we're no longer allowed to answer reviewers in our stories. If that's true, please tell me, don't report me, and I'll e-mail those of you who need a question answered. Thanks!


	10. Ashley

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Ashley

Ryua kindly waited until her friends had eaten a full breakfast and were heading back upstairs before filling them in on what had been discovered that day. She decided that she was going to be thoroughly on their side now, nothing hidden, nothing secret… so she was going to start with her conversation with Dumbledore.

They accepted the confirmation of her dream quite airily, actually. What irritated her was how much they kept going back to her mother… "So, Voldemort came to your house last Christmas?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's shudder.

"Yes." Ryua said tersely.

"Blimey. If that's what all your holidays are like, I don't blame you for running out this summer…" Ron said.

Harry elbowed him "And, so Voldemort killed your mother… you weren't very specific before…"

"And I won't be now. That's a nightmare none of you deserve in your heads." Ryua said flatly.

Harry nodded, accepting that. He knew what sort of things you told your friends, and what you kept to yourself. Hermione and Ron looked vaguely curious, but were nice enough not to pry. "Where did you go after? You said you'd run, and weren't followed…"

Ryua sighed, starting to regret her decision to come clean with them. "Draco and I stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. We were going to go the Snape Manor… but decided that would be pretty damn stupid…"

"Yeah…"

"So, anything else you are desperately aching to know about my rotten holidays?"

Ron looked up from his lap, where he was trying to untangle a shoelace. "What happened this summer then? You just showed up covered in blood…"

Closing her eyes so they couldn't see her roll them, Ryua steeled herself to explain it. "Draco and I were having a pretty decent summer, actually. We were out playing quidditch one day, and Toppy… that's a house elf… came screaming out to us. The Death Eaters had broken out of Azkaban, and they were looking for a quick, easy way to relieve some tension. This led them to us, of course. We were just leaving, Draco was higher than me, we'd decided to split up anyway, when Lucius came out. He…" she swallowed a surprisingly painful lump before continuing. "he had my snake… he killed her to get my attention…"

Harry looked absolutely horrified. "I liked that snake!" It seemed to shock him more than hearing about Narcissa… although being a parselmouth, he had an excuse.

"Me too… well, it got my attention alright. I did enough to get me thrown in Azkaban if anyone found out, but the rest of the gang showed up before I could finish… I got knocked around the garden a fair bit, broke my arm, ribs… and got a whole lot of really irritating little cuts. Worse than the major injuries, actually… I managed to blind them for a second… And it worked. Got on my broom, although it was pretty pathetic by that point… Avoided most of them, but Rodolphus Lestrange caught me. We dueled, he couldn't fly worth a damn, I had no strength, so I decided to slam him into a cliff, I… I actually was going for a suicide attack, I was out of magic, energy… blood… And then I almost hit Pig, and decided I could maybe pull out of that last dive. He hauled me home… you know the rest."

The silence greeting this statement was absolute. After a full minute, Ryua sat forward, almost pleading, "Come on, say something…"

"Bloody hell…" Ron said, "You should drop the Quidditch and become a professional… action writer or something…"

Ryua looked at him, incredulous. And then started to laugh. And laugh… and eventually the others started to laugh too. _I love having friends…_

So the rest of the day went fine after that, although the adults were busy, the kids were left to their own devices. The five of them spent the time in their room, playing chess and exploding snap, and once in a while Hermione would try to get someone to study, Ryua or Ginny would threaten her with a curse, and they'd all go back to their games.

It was with great disgust, therefore, that Ron opened the window to let four Hogwarts brown owls swoop in, deposit scrolls, and depart again. "Ooh, those'll be your OWLs!" Ginny said excitedly, sorting them out and passing them to appropriate people.

Ron looked at the little scroll as if it were a particularly nasty howler. Hermione was white and shaking, although no one knew why, Harry looked glum… and Ryua just snapped the wax seal, not wanting to stretch the waiting any more than necessary. DADA, Transfiguration, Potions: all Outstanding. Herbology, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures were Exceeds Expectations… Astrology and Charms were barely an Average, her lowest marks. "Exactly what I expected…" she said, smiling with relief. She didn't need the Charms anyway…

Ron snagged Hermione's paper, snorting disgustedly. "She's all perfect of course, don't know why she even worried…"

Hermione glared at him, saying, "And what about you, Ron? Pass anything?"

"Of course!" he said, looking affronted. "Passed everything except Divination and Astrology!"

"You, Harry?" Ryua asked, taking the opportunity to lean over his shoulder, his hair tickling her ear.

"Didn't get the Outstanding for Potions…" he said glumly. "I need that to be an Auror."

"That sucks…" Ryua said, kissing his cheek. "I could try to butter up Snape for you if you like…"

"Wouldn't work," he sighed. "He likes you, but not enough to do me any favors…"

"But you did everything else," Hermione said, taking his paper. "So that's good… I'm sure you'll figure something out."

A loud screech from one corner distracted them all, as Crookshanks and the normally laid-back Hedwig got engaged in a shrieking contest, taking swipes at each other. Pig wasn't helping, twittering madly around them, raising temperatures even higher. "Oy! Cut it out!" Ron bellowed, his huge hands snatching Pig out of midair and stuffing him under Ginny's blankets. Hermione pounced on the snarling cat, burying him in Ryua's bed. Hedwig flew to the top of the dresser and stared resolutely at the wall. "They've all gone mad!" Ron said exasperatedly.

"This _is_ weird weather…" Hermione said. "That sometimes affects animals."

"They've seen fog before," Harry said, looking up at his snooty owl. "There's something weird with this stuff…"

"Dementors." Ryua said, carefully pulling Pig out from the heavy blankets before he suffocated. "I heard Lupin talking about it earlier this morning… this mist means they're breeding."

Ginny looked at her aghast, then said, "Eew. That's just plain disgusting. You mean, every time we've been breathing in that stuff…"

"Gross! Dementor reproduction… stuff. I don't think they have genders, so I don't know what to call it…" Hermione, although rather revolted, managed to link it to something scientific enough to manage her disgust.

"Well, that would account for the generally dismal mood this summer," Harry said. "Dementors on the loose, and multiplying…"

"Yeah." Ryua shuddered, trying to shake the now-noticeable chill that seemed to cling to her. "Let's go bug your mom for cookies, or something warm…" This statement was met with heartfelt agreement. Their good mood was momentarily doused by Hermione insisting on bringing their OWLs, bit it seemed a small price to pay for Mrs. Weasley's cooking.

Even though she shook her finger at them for asking for snacks so close to suppertime, Mrs. Weasley handed over a plate of cookies, and hugs all around for their test results. They managed to dispose of every last crumb of cookie, even washing the plate before people started to trickle in for supper. A huge pot of beef barley soup with fresh biscuits graced the table tonight, and as usual, it was nearly all gone by the time everyone had finished eating.

Like so many happy evenings, this one was cut to a halt by Dumbledore's announcement that he was holding another meeting. The kids walked sullenly, but obediently, up to their room to hang out until they got tired. Which didn't actually take long, when you thought about how little they did that day.

Dumbledore sat in his office, really not wanting to read anymore of the Black's heirloom grimoires, but knowing that he really should. There had to be a mention of finding Horcruxes in them somewhere…

Just as he was reaching for a particularly nasty one that looked to be bound in human skin, a crashing sound came from the front hall, followed by Mrs. Black's screeching. He got up to see who it was, and was nearly bowled over by Severus Snape, looking more terrified and human than he'd ever seen him. "Dumbledore… something went wrong," he said gasping for breath, and turning around to stumble out.

"What, Severus?" Dumbledore said, following him quickly. The Snape Manor had been selected as a meeting place that night for a Death Eater conclave, so any number of things could have occurred…

"Ashley… they caught Ashley…" he moaned. "I… I brought her here, sir. I didn't know where else to go…"

"Here?" Dumbledore repeated, looking at him with mild surprise. "How did you get her in without my knowledge?"

"I didn't… she's on the front step." Since Dumbledore's protection charms required any visitor to be told the address by him, nobody could enter without first receiving his permission. "She's not in the best of shape, sir…"

"I see." Dumbledore pushed the door gently open into the cold, misty night. Ashley Snape was huddled in a miserable ball against the banister, shaking and clutching her arm tightly into her chest, breathing heavily and stifling painful moans. Severus' cloak was draped over her shoulders, and she appeared to be wearing pajamas.

"She… she was jinxed rather badly a few times… she doesn't know where she is yet. If…" Snape couldn't finish the thought. If Dumbledore wouldn't take her, she couldn't betray the location of the Headquarters.

Dumbledore simply knelt down in front of the girl shivering on the steps. "Ashley… Ashley Snape, listen to me." He placed a hand on her shoulder, and smiled when she blearily looked up at him through pain-fogged eyes. "You're at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place; The Order of the Phoenix headquarters. Come inside now, and we'll take care of you." The moment he released her, her head dropped back down to her knees. Severus picked her up immediately, and carried her in through the still-open door. He deposited her on the couch, and immediately went off to find Mrs. Weasley.

Halfway up the stairs to her bedroom, Severus met Ryua coming down the stairs, wand tucked up in a bun. _Cautious, but not openly aggressive… I think she's finally calming down…_ "Ryua, go back to bed."

"What set off Mrs. Black?" Ryua asked, not the least bit sleepy. The shrieks echoing up three flights of stairs had jolted her awake with an incredible shot of adrenaline.

He sighed. He hadn't really expected her to obey, but his parenting mode was in full operation, so he felt like he had to try. "I did. There was a Death Eater conclave at my house tonight. Ashley wanted to see what was going on, even though I told her to stay in her room no matter what…"

"Of course she did," Ryua sighed. "You can't just tell a teenage girl not to do something…"

"I know," he said sadly. "But she came down anyway… and they caught, tortured, and branded her."

"Oh, no…" Ryua said, aghast. She turned to go down the stairs, and Snape let her go. It couldn't do any harm, Ashley would probably feel better knowing someone here…

Ryua dashed into the room where Ashley was lying curled on her side, and sat down beside her. She laid a hand on her shoulder, softly calling her name. "Ashley? You okay?"

"…Ryua?" Ashley whispered, raising her head and wincing at the movement. "What are you doing at the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Same thing as you, more or less…" Ryua said. "I was much more dead than you… but you've got…" she lightly touched her arm.

Burying her face in the couch, Ashley let Ryua pick up her arm. She knew better than to touch it, but held her arm in the light. Although the rest of her skin was cold and clammy, her forearm was almost burning hot, the Dark Mark red and angry. A normal brand wouldn't hurt much, since the burning kills the nerves… but Voldemort liked to cause pain, and he summoned his followers through pain as well. Therefore, his magical branding burned, and yet did no damage to the nerves underneath… causing excruciating pain for the first day or two. It never really stopped twinging; Ryua often remembered Lucius clutching his arm on a very cold day, or if he over-exerted himself.

She stayed there until Mrs. Weasley came and patched up small weals from spells, bruises, spread cooling cream on her arm, and stepped aside for Severus to force-feed her a dreamless sleep potion. And then Ryua flatly refused to go back upstairs for longer than it took to get her blankets. There was no way she was letting her friend sleep alone after something like that; she'd need someone to be there when she got up.

She fell asleep surprisingly fast, actually…


	11. Calming Down

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Calming Down

Ashley woke up the next day in a state of panic, making Ryua glad she'd slept in the same room. She was able to get in her line of vision and start talking before she blew up anything valuable. "Ashely, Ashley, calm down, you're safe…" Ryua moved forward cautiously but quickly as she spoke, putting a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Wha… Where am I?" Ashley asked, dark eyes scanning the room for Death Eaters.

"The Black Manor… Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Ryua said calmly. "I'm afraid none of it was a dream,"

Ashley had just clutched at her arm, hissing in pain, tears springing to the corners of her eyes. "That _hurts!_" she gasped, cradling it to her chest.

"I know," Ryua said, pulling her arm firmly out to have a look. "I don't think it's quite as red as yesterday… you must be healing already. We'll have Mrs. Weasley have a look at it…"

"No!" she snapped, snatching her arm back. "I don't want anyone to…"

"She's already seen it," Ryua said. "Her, your uncle, Dumbledore, and myself. Lupin and Mad Eye might know, but I doubt Dumbledore would blab it about before talking to you."

"Oh," Ashley said quietly, staring at her knees. A spot of moisture dropped onto them, and Ryua was shocked to see the usually closed, withdrawn Ashley was crying. "I never meant to be caught… I didn't… didn't want…"

"I know," Ryua said softly. Wishing she were better at offering comfort, she sat down next to her, putting an arm carefully around her shoulders. They sat like that for a while, both of them completely silent, tears sliding down Ashley's long nose into her lap. Neither of them really noticed when Mrs. Weasley came in, just that there was suddenly someone motherly, and full of support and love just waiting to dish it out. Ryua withdrew to her own couch, relieved she didn't have to be the emotional support anymore, and hating herself for it.

After some period of time, it could have been two minutes, or two hours, Ashley stopped shaking and straightened up, scrubbing her face on a blanket and making sure her sleeve was fully down her arm. "That's better, dear. Now, why don't we go get some breakfast inside you? I've been baking up the most lovely little scones… and I have some fresh rhubarb-ginger jam I'd like to open…" The girls obediently followed her into the kitchen, where the first batch of scones was just ready to levitate out of the oven. Smeared with butter and jam, they were perfect, light and sweet.

Dumbledore came in, smiling widely as he helped himself to a handful of the little sweet biscuits. They all ate in silence for a while before Dumbledore looked up at the empty hallway and said, "Ashley… If you don't mind, I think we ought to talk before we decide what to do with you," Piling a plate full of scones and taking an entire jar of jam, he bowed, gesturing Ashley out of the room. Just as they turned the corner, Hermione and Ginny came in the other door, making Ryua wonder how on earth the man knew things. ESP?

Since she was usually up so early, they didn't even glance twice at her, just started in on the breakfast. The others trickled in after them, most of them fresh from bed, a handful of Aurors coming in from night watches. Ryua didn't hear from Dumbledore or Ashley until later that day. Mrs. Weasley announced that they'd all go school shopping that day, so Ryua eagerly went upstairs to find her best-fitting borrowed clothes and wand, her only possession.

Much to her surprise, Ginny was packing up her clothes, her bed already made. "Going somewhere?" Ryua asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. Ashley and I are going to go stay at Fred and George's shop for the rest of summer. It makes her uncomfortable to be here, and Dumbledore said it was okay." Ginny said, neatly packing the last of her old school robes.

Ryua sat down on the bed, looking for Fleur's (she'd been the closest in foot size) old shoes. "When did you and Ashley become such good friends?" she asked, surprised.

"Since our first year. We've been in most of each other's classes, you know," Ginny said, looking up at her. "I guess Slytherins don't talk about Gryffindor friends any more than we do about you, eh?"

"Guess not…" Ryua said, still slightly surprised. She was happy though, Ashley deserved some good friends in her life.

The first stop Ryua made was Gringotts, to see what kind of financial shape she was in. Sure enough, she was finally locked out of the Malfoy vaults, although Lucius hadn't been able to drain her private accounts. She'd been saving most of her allowance since she was old enough to open an account, and so would be fine right through school, and a cushion in case she couldn't get a job quickly. She withdrew enough gold to replenish her wardrobe, and the schoolbooks she figured Lucius had burned in a fit of temper once he recovered. Card was working on her broom now, having finally got a hold of a piece of bloodwood the right size and feel.

She, Ginny, and Hermione dragged Ashley along on a clothes shopping trip, although the younger girl did enjoy herself a fair bit. Ryua winced at how few clothes she suddenly owned, just two summer shirts, one heavy cloak, a pair of pants, and one short skirt, along with her school robes, of course. And a Weasley jumper, done very thoughtfully by Mrs. Weasley in shades of green. A definite shock for a Malfoy… but not quite as bad as she'd expected, really.

The books hurt too, as she needed to pick up the ones used all her school career as well as her new ones. With an empty purse (a new, and unsettling feeling) Ryua packed up the last of her new Potions ingredients into her bag and sighed, staring longingly at the pet store. And she hadn't made it down Knockturn Alley at all…

But the stop at Fred and George's shop dispelled all lingering bad feelings. She stared in amusement at their rude, blatantly rebellious advertisements, wondering how difficult it would be to slip a batch of You-Know-Poo into Voldemort's food… And it was even better inside. They'd expanded their repertoire considerably, with trick wands, candies, quills, books, vials of love potions, hair growing and removing potions, skin color potions… and pygmypuffs. "I didn't know you were into animal breeding," Ryua said, poking the little fluffballs.

"Ginny's idea, actually," George said, fighting his way through the crowd. "They're a hit, we'll have to breed miniature Nifflers and Kneazles next…" He was called away then by a pair of girls drooling over their love potions, leaving Ryua to wend her way through the crowds on her own. Eventually, she came across Ashley, who had dropped off her own meager belongings in back and was trying to avoid getting trampled. "Settling in alright?" Ryua asked, worried about her friend. Ashley was the kind to bottle everything up, when a good cursing binge or yelling match would serve her much better.

"Yeah… I hate crowds," Ashley said, keeping her back right to the wall.

Ryua laughed. "I know… you send me an owl, or come visit if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," Ashley said, looking like she wished she could melt into the wall. She looked up suddenly, towards the front of the shop. "Hey, your Weasleys are heading out, I think…"

Ryua turned to look, and sure enough, they could see Ron's tall figure struggling through the crowds, Harry and Hermione already standing near the door. She smiled, feeling like a silly girl with a crush when Harry turned her way and grinned. "Yeah… keep yourself safe, okay?"

"You too…" she said, "And watch yourself with Harry. If any of us catch you…"

Ryua looked up, astonished. She thought she'd been good about keeping their relationship a secret… "How did you…"

"I know you," Ashley said, smiling faintly. "And I've never seen you so happy, or seen you smile at anyone quite like that. It's good…"

Ryua smiled again, trying hard not to blush. "Good… It's nice to know one of my friends or family approves, anyway…"

"I… I do, actually. I think you can trust him. Now go, before they come looking for you…" Ashley growled, shoving Ryua into the crowds. She hated emotional anythings, and goodbyes were the worst.

Back at Grimmauld place, Ryua changed happily into clothes that actually fit her, and stacked her books under her bed with a strange sense of accomplishment. It was good to own something again… She laid back happily on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. A screeching sound made her whip her head around, to see Hedwig screech again, battering at the window. Outside on the ledge lay a rather rumpled pile of brown feathers. Curiously, Ryua opened the window, and exclaimed happily to recognize her owl, exhausted, ruffled, and slightly scorched, but alive. Carefully scooping it up, she carried it down to Mrs. Weasley.

"Poor thing," Molly said, feeding it little bits of chicken. "It looks like he dodged a few spells on his way here…"

"I'm sure Lucius had a hissy fit, he's probably the only thing of mine left intact…" Ryua said, straightening feathers. Her owl seemed much improved now that it was safe, warm, and being fed.

"Well, I'll take good care of him now, don't worry," Molly said, just as mothering towards an owl as her own children. "You run along and have some fun, what this little fellow needs most is rest."

Obediently, Ryua skipped out, in an even more good mood than before. Clothes, books, school supplies, and her own owl back, life was good… and then she saw Harry, wandering down the hallways all by himself, and she got even happier. "Hey, you," she said, bounding up behind him to lean on his shoulder.

"Hey…" Harry said, turning around to face her. "You seem happy."

"I am!" Ryua said, giggling. She was momentarily annoyed with herself for giggling like a little girl, and then decided that giggling was fun. "My owl just came back, I have my books, clothes that fit me…"

"I noticed…" Harry said, then went slightly pink at his forwardness.

Smiling, Ryua stepped back, doing a full turn. "You like?" She knew very well that she looked good, in black jeans, and a red-and-black top cut just low enough to show some of her unscarred chest but not make Mrs. Weasley force a sweater over her head.

Harry tried very hard not to look like he was looking. And as all men are wont to do, failed miserably. Laughing, Ryua stepped back towards him, snaking an arm around his waist. It proved to be all the encouragement he needed.

Ryua found herself held tightly in his arms, Harry kissing hungrily along her cheek, and trickling down onto her neck. She gasped, tilting her head back, her skin tingling from his touch. His lips were cool from breathing the cold air of a stone manor, making a sharp contrast with her hot skin. One of his hands brushed a length of her gold hair behind her shoulder, and his fingers were warm and gentle.

She gasped again, shivering as she felt Harry lick her collarbone. Apparently, he liked the taste, because he did it again, moving to the hollow of her throat. For all she cared, he could keep doing whatever it was he was doing until the world ended, but suddenly, his mouth was on hers, hot and sweet and… and… Ryua gave up on finding any adjectives. It felt just so damned good…

He suddenly bit her lip, and her fingers dug reflexively into his back Oddly, the mild jolt of pain only intensified her feelings, an intriguing idea. She'd never enjoyed pain before… but it felt somehow different, a different sensation entirely… As soon as he released her, she pressed into him, her tongue stroking along his.

Taunting, he pulled back, lips just grazing hers, teasing along her jaw, onto her neck. It was driving her mad, just enough contact to set her skin afire, not enough to satisfy… her fingers clenched again, trying to force him against her. He just chuckled, continuing to tease her.

Without warning, his head cracked against her shoulder, causing them both to yelp. Ryua's head whipped around to see Snape glaring disgustedly at the two of them. "Would you _please_ get a room?"

Stifling something between a laugh and a hiss of pain, Ryua pushed Harry down the hall, rubbing her shoulder. "That _hurt_!" she said. "How's your head?"

"I'll live," he said, smiling back at her. "I've been hit with worse than that… Wanna go find that room?"

"You are just the most … most… incorrigible…" Ryua started to say, laughing, before Harry did indeed find an empty room and pulled her in.

Author's Note: Aah… sorry for the wait… this chapter just wouldn't write… but then it just did. Go figure…

Thanks to those of you who put in requests for things. It helps a lot for giving me something to write. And I swear, I'm getting to Draco, and Lucius… but neither of those were happy enough to sit in this chapter.

And for anyone who cares, bloodwood is this incredibly beautiful, blood-red wood, very hard, expensive… a real luxury wood most people haven't even heard of.


	12. Lucius

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Lucius

Ryua opened her eyes in a dark room, cold and uncomfortable. When she failed to jerk upright as she intended, she realized she must be seeing through Draco's eyes again. Although tired, and dreadfully hungry, he seemed to be in decent physical shape. Harmless but effective magical shackles bound his wrists behind his back, and there was another magical lock on the door. Footsteps echoed through the hall outside his door, and he looked up.

A sliding sound of the lock unworking, and Lord Voldemort stood in the door. "Draco," the Dark Lord hissed. "Enjoying your accommodations, I hope?"

"Peachy," Draco snapped, surprising Ryua. She'd never thought him the type to talk back to Voldemort.

Voldemort's face became ugly. "I would be more cautious of my words, if I were you. This immunity you have picked up will not last forever."

"Well, it'll probably hold out until I die of starvation, so that's good enough for me." Draco said, leaning back as casually as he could against the wall and staring at the ceiling.

"If you give yourself freely into my service, forsaking your mother's protection, you will be infinitely more comfortable," he said, tone coaxing.

"Not happening, as I have better things to do with my life than be a pet for an arrogant, hypocritical bastard like yourself." Draco said boldly. He doubted he could stand up if they started in on torture, but…

Voldemort's already inhuman face twisted with rage, and he lashed out with a vicious kick to Draco's ribs. Reflex made him tense, although it proved unnecessary. Voldemort's foot slid off him with barely an uncomfortable pressure, slamming painfully into the stone. Apparently, this sort of thing had happened a lot since his capture, and none of the Dark Lord's spells or physical attacks caused more than the most minor pain.

"You will pay for that sooner or later, Draco," he hissed, red eyes glowing malevolently. "And I will thoroughly enjoy exacting every insult on your pathetic, pampered hide."

"Sooner or later… but not now," Draco replied, looking as bored as possible, despite his inner worry. This was stressful work… "Now, if there's nothing else, you may as well go torture someone who cares."

Voldemort made a sound almost akin to a cat being skinned, and he turned furiously on his heel, storming out. He slammed the door hard enough that it banged back open, the magical locks misfiring. Draco looked longingly at the open portal, but before he was even fully standing, Bellatrix was there, looking in on him. "I've heard what you're calling our master, boy," she said, coldly. "I'd watch your step, if I were you…"

"Go bugger off, Bella," Draco said, glaring at her. "There's no time in my life for me to waste it talking to someone like you.

Her eyes narrowed, glaring malevolently at him. "If the Dark Lord allows you to live, I swear I will finish the job." On her way out the door, she swung an elbow at his head, not really expecting for it to contact.

Neither was Draco, so it came as a complete shock when his nose cracked, sending shooting pains through his face and blood dripping down his front. "Ow! Shit…"

Bella's eyes widened gleefully. "Oops. Did I hurt you, Draco? I'd better make sure you sit down so you don't faint from all the blood… impedimentia!"

Draco was knocked back against the wall, handcuffs biting painfully into his back. Through the pain was an even worse sensation; panic. Bella could touch him…

Ryua sat bolt upright again, although she managed to not curse poor Harry still sleeping soundly across from her. Shuddering, she rubbed her wrists, checking for blood on them, her back, and nose. Finding none, and satisfying herself that it was just a dream, she lay back for a moment, staring at the ceiling. Accepting that she wasn't about to get to sleep any time soon, she rolled out of bed, wandering downstairs in the hope that Mrs. Weasley would have been making breakfast.

A massive pile of bacon and eggs awaited her, steaming appetizingly on the table. "How do you keep it hot all the way through breakfast?" she asked. It was a valid question; Ryua was usually down two or more hours before the late risers, and there was always fresh, hot food waiting.

"Kitchen magic, dear," Molly said, pushing her into a seat and loading a plate. Ryua dug in with enthusiasm, her nerves settling with the first few bites. "The night shift should be in any moment, they'll put a dent in it, I'm sure."

Right on cue, Remus, Fred, and Tonks came in, looking disgruntled and tired. "Ah, Mum, you are the ultimate goddess…" Fred groaned, as he caught sight of his breakfast awaiting him.

Giggling happily and kissing him on the cheek, she shoved him into a chair, waving Remus and Tonks to sit down too. Tonks dumped a slightly damp newspaper on the table, piling scrambled eggs on her plate and drenching them in maple syrup. "What happened to the paper?" Ryua asked, looking sideways at it.

"Tonks tripped… it landed in a puddle." Remus said. Tonks sort of glared at him, but was too distracted by food. "As soon as we're done, Dumbledore has to see this…"

"Why?" Ryua picked up the paper, scanning through. The headline read; 'Fudge Retires- Race for Minister Underway' and showed a picture of Fudge looking all fatherly and careworn, gesturing to a group of witches and wizards standing behind him. The story below started; 'Cornelius Fudge, Minister these last fifteen years, has announced his intentions to retire from the taxing position of leadership.'

"Well, that doesn't sound all that bad. Fudge is a complete git." Ryua said flatly.

"Keep reading," Remus said, waving at the paper.

'Since our society cannot be without a leader in these troubled times, the election date is set for two weeks hence.' _Just before term starts,_ Ryua thought. 'So far, three nominees have been named, in the persons of Serena Moonstone, Wesley Caryle, and the newly recovered Lucius Malfoy. Biographies continue on page three…'

"Heh… heh. Fred. This IS one of your trick newspapers, isn't it?" Ryua said, pleadingly.

"Nope," he said morosely. "Just picked it up this morning, I brought it straight here."

"You've got to be kidding me." Ryua said, flipping to page three to read the rest of the article. "He's a Death Eater, has been his whole life! He's _branded_ for Salazar's sake!"

"He _was_," Remus said tiredly, reaching up to point out Lucius' biography. 'Lucius Malfoy has always been an upstanding member of the community,' it wrote, 'making many generous donations to worthy causes. There has been much controversy lately, surrounding his alleged connections to He Who Must Not Be Named. However, these accusations are completely unfounded, as he has been proven to be under the Imperius Curse. On the night Florence Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was attacked by Death Eaters, Malfoy fought an unknown number of Death Eaters, allowing Sasha Fortescue time to escape to a neighboring store. Although critically injured, Malfoy has made a near-full recovery, his only lasting injury burns to his left arm. He has decided to dedicate his life to the protection of innocents against such tragedies as befell the Fortescue Family, and has promised to provide positive results and action in these dangerous times.'

"Burns to his left arm," Tonks sighed. "I've seen him at the Ministry. His left hand's almost crippled, the skin scarred all the way to his shoulder."

"Bad enough to erase a Dark Mark. Clever. You aren't actually going to let him become Minister, are you?"

"We've just got the news, even Dumbledore doesn't know yet. Although," Fred said, "I doubt he'll just let it happen."

The look on Dumbledore's face later that morning was absolutely horrified. "Lucius? I didn't think the Ministry was _that_ stupid… Arthur, I think you should run for Minister as well, give us a foot in the door."

Arthur Weasley looked rather disgusted at this suggestion, but agreed.

"Why don't you just let me kill him and get it over with?" Ryua asked bluntly. "I wouldn't mind a bit, and it'd solve our problem."

"Ah, but that would turn him into a martyr: 'Tragic hero murdered by traitorous daughter' or words to that effect." Dumbledore said sadly. "And I don't need you thrown in Azkaban, regardless of how noble the reasons."

"Oh. Right…"

Arthur Weasley was pacing now, making it extremely difficult for Mrs. Weasley to neaten his appearance. "I don't know how I'm supposed to hold my own against Malfoy," he said. "I've got no money to speak of, my house is tiny, I'm allied with you… no offense, Albus…"

"None taken," Dumbledore said, smiling. "But perhaps people will be more inclined to believe me now."

"Not with all the propaganda Fudge's people have been spewing out. He's made you out to be this wily spy, with one foot in you-know-who's graces, malignantly withholding vital information." Fred sighed. "Utter poppycock, of course, but it's been so well mass-marketed that people have started to believe it."

"Thank you, Fred, for outlining my picture of hopelessness," Arthur snapped sarcastically.

"Arthur, calm yourself," Molly said sternly. "You'll do fine. You are well liked in the Ministry itself, and with the exception of the purebloods, in the community as well. We Weasleys have always had a good name."

"She's right," Ryua said. "And I'll try to denounce Lucius with everything I've got… I know all sorts of dirty little facts about him."

"Good." Dumbledore said firmly. "Now Arthur, we have a press conference to go to."

They all watched Mr. Weasley's opening speech, making sure to applaud loudly at all the right points, acting as crowd prompters. Despite his early misgivings, he did quite well, pointing out his own history of fighting He Who Should Not Be Named, his dedication to the Ministry and it's people, and so on. The applause at the end, although not tumultuous, was at least honest and enthusiastic. And then, naturally, Lucius came up, in his immaculate rich robes, one black glove covering his left hand. He was already a crowd favorite, that was obvious, although not everyone was on their feet.

Grudgingly, Ryua admitted that he had a flair for impressing people. Whether he wrote his speeches or someone else did, they were well delivered, full of ringing tones, fiery emotion, and cool logic whenever necessary. And the huge family reserves didn't hurt either; Lucius made very public donation to St. Mungoes' in support of their amplified workload.

The resounding applause at the end of the speech made her wince. "We don't have a chance…" Gritting her teeth, Ryua trickled her way through the crowd, aiming for the back of the podium. She managed to get there just as Lucius came down, and the Aurors were coming up to shoo her away. "Father!" she called brightly, waving and smiling cheerfully. "You did great!"

Smiling just as pleasantly, he waved the Aurors away, allowing her to come closer. Squelching a shiver, she threw her arms around his neck, muttering, "I'm going to do everything I can to stop you…"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he whispered back. "And I didn't. You're going to have a great deal of difficulty if you try to impede me…"

"There's nothing you can do to me that I can't handle," Ryua said, falling into step behind him, a neutrally happy expression on her face. "And if Arthur and Dumbledore can't take you down legally…"

Lucius shook hands with various possible voters, smiling and making appropriate noises. As he continued to walk, Ryua dogging his heels as closely as possible, he said, "Oh, come now. You couldn't do anything to me…"

"If Bellatrix hadn't shown up when she did, you'd be hippogriff fodder." Ryua said, smiling blandly.

For just one moment, his mask of perfect role model fell, and someone as familiar to him as Ryua could catch a glimpse of rage. It was covered too quickly for even Rita Skeeter to get a hold of, although his voice trembled slightly when he next spoke. "I wouldn't advise trying anything, daughter."

"Why? Scared you won't be able to handle it?"

A genuine smile crossed his face this time, albeit with a nasty undercurrent Ryua knew all too well. "Because if you do, Draco will pay in blood."

Ryua's step didn't falter, or her face flicker, although a stab of cold fear struck her in her gut. "You can't touch him. Neither can Voldemort."

"Ah… but your mother's dear sister can…" The barest flick of his wrist, the final step in a basic communication spell, and Lucius whispered something even Ryua couldn't hear. A sharp pain in her stomach, then her arm did make her stumble then. It was too dull to be anything directly done to her… Lucius must have had Bella do something to Draco. From the way her arm was throbbing distantly, it might be broken…

Lucius had turned around to watch her reaction, and smiled broadly to see the momentary look of worry and pain on her face. He stepped towards her again, embracing her. It was all Ryua could do to hold still. "Any hint of you causing trouble… any kind at all," he hissed in her ear, one hand running delicately down one of her more nasty scars as a warning, "and Bellatrix has orders to do whatever she wishes to him."

Swallowing a bundle of mixed emotions down her throat, she turned away, looking desperately for somewhere quiet and private to collect herself. Ducking between a parked transport van and a wall, Ryua flattened herself against the cold brick, forcing herself to breathe deeply. Her mind was racing, furiously arguing back and forth. _I want to KILL him… but Draco, what about Draco… he deserves to die, after what he did to us… and he's got Draco under a panic button…he let our mother die…he's very well guarded…I hate him, I hate him, hate him, hate…_ Biting down hard on her fist, Ryua stifled a scream of frustration. She wanted to go after him, rip him physically apart, hit him with every curse she knew, kill him as slowly as she knew how… but couldn't. More surely than if he had a wand at her throat, she was incapable of moving.

"Ryua?" a voice came from the end of the truck. She spun around to see Hermione peering in at her. "What's wrong?"

"That bastard's got Draco. I can't do _anything_!" Ryua hissed, slamming her fist into the wall. "I could kill him, I could discredit him…" For that had been why Lucius had touched her scars; to warn her from bringing that into public view.

"Oh no!" Hermione said, rushing in to grab Ryua's shoulder comfortingly. "But I thought… he couldn't…"

"He can't, Bellatrix can," Ryua growled, trembling slightly. She raised her hand, mildly intrigued to find she'd drawn blood when she'd bit down. "So… I'm stuck."

"Do… do you think we could get him out?" Hermione asked.

"Not likely. He's underground somewhere… probably in a maximum-security dungeon. Not for his sake… but if Voldemort can get Lucius into legal power, he's laughing." Ryua was almost seeing red, and it was taking all of her control not to blow something up.

"Well… then you'll just have to stay neutral until school. They won't keep him over the school year…"

"But that'll be _after_ the elections. You do not want someone like Lucius in control of our society." Growling, Ryua slammed the wall again, a relatively safe outlet.

"You should stop that," Hermione said, firmly grabbing Ryua's wrist. "Breaking your hand isn't going to help anything."

"I know, I know…" Ryua said, shaking her head. "I'm just so… so… I'm scared. I've never been scared before… not like this. I want to trade places… I'd much rather face death myself…"

"I know. I don't have a brother… but I hate it when Ron or Harry's in trouble, and I can't help. You just have to hope that he can handle it. He is your twin right? He should have some of your… nastier characteristics."

Ryua actually laughed at that, surprising herself. "Yeah. He can handle himself…" _And I'll just stay out of the way until he's free…_

Author's Note: Yay! Somebody new reviewed! Actually… she reviewed my first story… which takes a lot of ambition to read, I know. So, whenever you read this, I just wanted to say thanks!

Oh, and HPF, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I rather enjoyed writing it, I think I'm getting better…

And I've decided I have no inspiration for politics. I will never make it as a politician… I don't even know what a political speech sounds like…


	13. Before School

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Before School

The next two weeks both crawled and flew by so quickly that Ryua was left spinning. Arthur put up an incredible fight, gaining support among the lower-born wizards at a rate Lucius couldn't stop. The normally sweet, soft-spoken, bumbling wizard became much shrewder and decisive, although he kept his honest, down-to-earth nature in evidence. It was the only thing Arthur had going for him that Lucius didn't. The charismatic Malfoy had money, looks to make the witches swoon, and most importantly, looked capable of protecting the people against a war.

Fred and George decided to do something about that, though. Three days into the race, they threw their support behind their father, gaining such an incredible wave of popularity that Arthur passed Lucius in the popularity polls by half. Not only had they been stubbornly defying the problems facing Diagon Alley, but their 'Defense Line' was the most widely-sold product on the market, legal and black.

In fact, for five days, Arthur managed to hold first place. The other candidates put in half-baked attempts at speeches, but had mostly dropped out of the works. And then, an unexplained ministry raid on the shop turned up Ashley Snape, a branded Death Eater. Her trial took two days of public attention, in which Dumbledore, Fred and George, Severus, and every other Hogwarts teacher fought tooth and nail to keep her safe. Although the Wizengamut was forced to let her go due to Veritaserum confession of her unwilling branding, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was forced to drop its affiliation with the election.

Harry took over their support then, although his own mixed history with the Ministry made for a slightly less impressive bid for attention. On the sidelines, Weasley's was growing in popularity for sheltering such a hard-done-by girl in these troubled times, and Ashley, although shaken from being so close to Azkaban, was still allowed to live in their shop.

However, that one momentary discredit, so close to the election day, was all that Lucius needed to pull back ahead. He didn't make as many speeches, relying on his generous donations to keep himself in the lead. Those last five days nearly tore Ryua apart, her mind racing between the threat to Draco, and what would happen if Lucius got into power. _One boy. He's just one…_Logically, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few… _But I can't. I just can't…_ And if Draco was seriously hurt, it could have almost as serious affect on her… she could go into a dead faint or seizure in the middle of a statement… _I could hold on. I've been through a lot, I could bear through…_ It was true. She'd been through everything short of death…_ They could _kill _him. What would that do to me?_ Ryua wasn't about to bet that she'd live through the death of her twin. It was very possible… but not something she'd voluntarily stake her life on. _I just don't know…_

The day before the election, Ryua woke up from a dream about Draco, locked up with Bellatrix making his life miserable. _They're doing it anyways. I might as well have him suffer _for _something…_She sent her owl to the Daily Prophet, stating that she had serious dirt on one of the electorates. Once it was away, taking away her ability to change her mind for the billionth time, she felt a strange, relaxing sense of relief.

An hour later, she was putting the finishing touches on her look, hair tied neatly up in a silky, professional knot, no makeup, and one of Fleur's borrowed backless tops, covered by a likewise borrowed sleeveless vest. She needed something concrete to discredit him now, something horrifying. They all knew he'd been a Death Eater, and her voice wouldn't have an affect quickly enough. But… She rubbed the back of her neck self-consciously, fingers working over the thin scar there. Child abuse was something visible, something undeniable. There had to be tests to discover whose wand caused the damage, or she'd take veritaserum, or…

Without warning, a blinding flash of pain in her arm sent her to her knees, doubled over, nose just an inch off the floor. Her skin felt like it was on fire, burning sensations racing across her body, streaking towards her left arm, the pain intensifying to the point of blacking out.

"…ologize, My Lord, I haven't had much practice…"

"No matter. I prefer one such as him to suffer as much pain as possible… and it is perfectly recognizable. And deep enough it should have transferred…"

Ryua jerked awake again, trying to push herself up and collapsing from the pain in her arm. She didn't move again until Fleur came in, and shouted for Mrs. Weasley. "What 'appened, Ryua? What iz wrong?"

"Hurts…" Ryua gasped, allowing Fleur to pull her up to her knees, although still cradling her burning arm.

Mrs. Weasley arrived almost immediately, dropping to the floor with the girls. "What happened?"

"She will not say, Molly…" Fleur said, worried. Ryua wasn't able to speak, her entire body clenched.

"Can not say, more like it…" Mrs. Weasley said grimly. "Something's hit her badly. "Let's get her off the floor…" The two women half-carried Ryua to the nearest bedroom, laying her gently down. Firmly, Mrs. Weasley pulled on Ryua's arm, holding her body down until she could get a good look at it. Letting go with a most un-Molly like curse, she snapped, "Go get Dumbledore!" For once not letting her pride get in the way, Fleur scrambled out.

It wasn't long before she found him, just settling down to a plate of pancakes and syrup. "Dumbledore! Something iz wrong with Ryua… Mrs. Weasley is with 'er, in our room…"

Putting down his knife and fork, Dumbledore rose quickly, most of the way out after her when a shaken Ron came in. "Dumbledore! Draco's eagle owl just dropped this on my head…" In his trembling hands was a twisted, bloody mass of feathers, small size and extra-long legs identifying it as a burrowing owl, a piece of torn parchment tied viciously around its neck.

Dumbledore looked torn for a moment, then said, "Stay here, Ron. I don't want Ryua seeing that just yet. See if… if you will, see what that parchment says. I will be back momentarily."

The two of them dashed into the room, Fleur shifting nervously from foot to foot as she watched the two adults trying to calm Ryua down. "I just found 'er, lying 'dere on the floor… she 'ad asked to borrow some of my things yesterday, I was going to see what she was wanting them for…"

"Molly? Do you know…" Dumbledore started to ask.

"She's been branded somehow, Dumbledore." Molly said, prying Ryua's arm out again. On the trembling, reddened skin was a faint, but undeniable Dark Mark.

Breathing out slowly through his long nose, Dumbledore leaned over Ryua, putting a cold hand on her feverish forehead. "Ryua. Ryua, you have to listen to me. I need you to relax. You are only making it worse."

The cold contact made more of an impression than his words, making her gasp suddenly. The sudden rush of un-obstructed air made her entire body relax a little, allowing her to breathe easier, and she tried to ease her cramping limbs. "Draco… no… leave him alone…" On some level, she was almost disgusted with herself for sounding so weak and inarticulate, but she wasn't really worried about that right now.

Dumbledore closed his eyes, understanding suddenly. "They must have found some way to brand Draco, and hoped it would carry over to her."

"Why?" Molly asked. "Why now? They've had him for weeks, they'll have him for another five days… why now?"

"Because she was trying to do something to Lucius, to sabotage his platform legally. Your youngest son just found her owl, killed and delivered back here. I have no doubt that she was trying to expose something Lucius had done, and he intercepted her owl. What better way to discredit her than proving her 'allegiance' in the public's eyes?"

"Oh dear…" Mrs. Weasley said, sitting back. "Poor girl…" She had a suspicion about what Ryua had been trying to reveal, and knew how much it would have cost her to go through with it. And now, she was branded a member of the organization she'd been trying to stop…

"There is little more you can do for her, Molly. Go and check on Ron, I will stay with her. Fleur, you go as well. Thank you for your hospitality…"

Molly gratefully went down to check on Ron. He wasn't very good with blood, and she was worried at the effect holding a violently killed pet would have on him… Fleur swallowed, leaving as well, probably to warn Bill away from their room for a while. Dumbledore remained, casting cooling charms and painkillers, knowing that he wouldn't be able to heal the burn if he tried.

Ten minutes later, Ryua was feeling more in control of herself, and forced herself to sit up. "What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"Feeling more like yourself, I see," Dumbledore said, smiling with relief.

"Yeah. Now tell me what happened!" she snapped. "… Sorry…"

"Quite understandable." Dumbledore said. "The blunt version of events is, your brother was branded with the Dark Mark. Apparently, it managed to carry on to you."

"Well… doesn't that just fuck my life up." Ryua said, staring at the floor.

Dumbledore winced, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid I can't necessarily deny that… but it makes no difference to me. You will be welcomed at Hogwarts, regardless of what the Ministry tries to pull on my school. And, I doubt it will have any affect on your friends either, or…" and a hint of humor came into his voice, "on Harry."

Ryua smiled hollowly, then grimaced. "What'll happen if… Like, he can't touch Voldemort without pain… what if…"

"I doubt you will have any problem with skin to skin contact." Dumbledore said, amused. "You could try that theory out…"

She pulled away from him, astonished. "Sir!"

"Oh, surely an old man is allowed to joke a little…"

Ryua made an odd sound, somewhere between a choke and a laugh. Shaking her head, she went downstairs. She thought she'd heard something about her owl…

Sure enough, she found a grim looking Ron furiously washing his hands. On the table was a bundle made of a white towel. When she moved towards it, he said, "Don't. You don't need to see it."

"I can deal with gore and death, Ron," Ryua said, walking over to him. "But thanks anyway."

"There was a note…" he said, swallowing. "It said 'I told you,' nothing else…"

"Figured it'd be something like that…" she said, kicking absently at the floor. "You ought to stop that, you'll rub your skin raw."

"I… I know," Ron said. "I just… really hate blood."

"Lots of people do, Ron," Ryua said, smiling a little. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"So, you're alright? Fleur came flying down in a panic, didn't say what was wrong, though…"

Ryua closed her eyes, sighing. "Let's go find Harry and Hermione, I don't want to say this more than once."

"Ouch." Was Ron's brilliant response. "That sucks."

Ryua snorted at that. "Yeah, I guess it really does."

"Does it hurt?" Hermione asked, going for the one part of the problem she could break down logically. "You could get something from Mrs. Weasley…"

"Dumbledore's been going at it. Unfortunately, these blasted things are meant to hurt. You can't completely numb them…" Ryua said morosely, rubbing at it.

"Well… maybe you need a cup of tea?" Ron said, clearly at a loss of what to do or say.

Ryua looked at him for a few moments, completely silent. And then she started to giggle. Slightly hysterically, but still a laugh. "Tea… the great healer Ronald Weasley prescribes tea…"

"It might not be a bad idea actually, especially since your mom would probably make something sweet and gooey to go with it. This is something that requires sweet and gooey." Hermione declared. "Come on, Ron. You know what she makes best." She dragged him out, relieved to have a mission.

Much to her disgust, Ryua was still giggling softly. Although absolutely nothing was funny... Harry shifted closer to her, asking, "So, are you alright?"

"I… I don't know…" Ryua said, her giggles shifting suddenly into a ragged sob. She immediately clenched down on herself, curling forward onto her knees.

Immediately, Harry's arm went around her shoulders, offering support, but carefully leaving her an avenue of escape if she wanted. "Ryua… tell me? Please?"

She looked up at him, feeling hollow and scared. He just looked at her, his expression soft, his eyes warm and comforting. Ryua felt herself starting to spiral down into them, warm and comfortable. "I… I was trying to stop Lucius. I had something to bring him down in the public eye…"

"That's good," Harry said softly.

"Don't… don't interrupt me, Harry," Ryua hissed, putting a finger to his lips. "I won't be able to start again…" As an afterthought, she locked the door before continuing. "When I was a little girl… I was loud, unladylike, rebellious… heh. Not much different than now, I guess. But there was one difference. I really… I had a puffskein, and I adored that thing, packing it around with me, brushed its fur… I was crushed when Draco accidentally blew it up… I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense, I know…

"I adored my father, and my mother. I loved it on the days that my mother would stay home and do things with me… and if I could ever make Lucius happy, ever do something he'd like… I was ecstatic for days. I was sweet, loving, and innocent.

"Then, one day, I found a picture of the Weasleys, and wanted to go visit them. My father said no. I asked why. I kept asking, since he wouldn't give me a decent answer. He cursed me for the first time that day. I was… five." _I… I wasn't that young, was I?_

"He got nastier from that day on. I…" Ryua paused, giggling at the memory. "Me and Draco stole one of the family brooms one day. Lucius was so angry, he made me bleed. That was the first time he'd cursed Draco. He was seven. Draco was crushed. I helped him put on numbing cream. I was good at it by then.

"When I went out to play in a mud puddle, Lucius made me sit down and write with one of those demonic quills." Ryua tilted her palm so the oldest scars were visible. "By the second year of Hogwarts, I knew enough to try defending myself. I managed to disarm him, but before I could do anything more permanent, he hit me hard enough that I bled from the mouth, and then got his wand back, and it was all over…

"I was fourteen when he cursed me to unconsciousness the first time. And that was the last holiday I got to keep my wand for any length of time. Lucius took to confiscating it before we even got home. Therefore, I started to learn wandless magic… but it wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to keep up with a trained Death Eater."

Steeling herself, Ryua slipped out from under Harry's arm. Keeping her back to him, she dropped the vest onto the floor. She heard his sudden intake of breath, and forced herself to hold still as one of his fingers lightly traced the scar she knew came from the day after their tropical Christmas. Since she hadn't been able to attend to it quickly, it had healed worse than many of the others. "Last year, my hand was broken during one of the fights. He crushed the bones afterwards… even the elves couldn't heal it properly." Ryua turned towards him, although she was looking at the floor. She peaked her hands, so the shorter fingers on her right hand were clearly visible.

"And this summer… he made his first deadly mistake. He killed my snake, to get my attention. I was literally halfway through casting the killing curse when Bellatrix arrived. One more second, and none of this trouble would have happened… And then, since I kept putting off looking for him, Draco got captured… Bella's been cursing him, she must have been the one to brand him… it's my fault. I should be the one there, I could handle it, Draco doesn't need to be there…" Ryua trailed off, trembling with so much emotion, rage, pain, hate, worry…

This time, when Harry wrapped his arms around her, there was no option about it. She found herself pressed against him, his arms holding her tightly. "It's okay. Really… It'll be okay, it's not your fault…"

None of his words seemed to make sense, as if he were speaking in Chinese… but she heard the tone, and despite herself, it felt so good to be held… She leaned into his shoulder, dropping her head as her vision started to blur. Out of lifelong reflex, she tensed, squeezing her eyes shut, clamping down on her stomach muscles to keep her breathing even…

"You know… it's okay to be sad once in a while," Harry murmured in her ear, one hand stroking her head for all the world as if she were a dejected puppy. Her concentration broken, she gasped, pulling away as far as she could, which was just enough to look directly at him. "I'm not going to hurt you for it."

She stared uncomprehendingly at him for at least a minute, her mind full of half-finished thoughts that went nowhere and accomplished nothing. Several times, she tried to say something, but the thought was gone before she made the first sound. Finally, she gave up trying to talk, and just leaned forwards, letting him hold her, and pet her hair, tears streaming silently down her cheeks for the first time in many years of pain.

Ron and Hermione came up the stairs not long after and found the door locked. They mutually decided that anywhere else was a better place to be, and left them in peace. When Mrs. Weasley gave them an inquiring look, Ron just shrugged, and Hermione said, "She's with Harry."

"Well… that'll do, I suppose." Mrs. Weasley said, casting a cooling charm on a pan of fudge. "This'll keep until they're done."

Author's Note: Wow. Talk about a nasty chapter to write… I just realized how sappy it sounds, actually… I didn't mean it to be quite like that…

Although, I was quite happy to finally get it done. That last scene was something I've planed from page one, and it just fell perfectly into place with what I'd already written.


	14. Election Day

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Election Day

Ryua made a half-hearted attempt to dishonor Lucius again, but Lupin managed to catch her before she sent off an owl. "It was dangerous to begin with, although I know Arthur appreciates it. With a Dark Mark, it's not going to work."

If she hadn't already known this, Ryua would never have backed down, but instead she spent the rest of the day blowing up dangerous things in the unexplored parts of the house. Everybody else wisely left her alone.

She was in a moderately more talkative mood by supper, having eliminated many biting doorknobs, cursed chests, three boggarts, and a nest of rats. The rest of the evening went to spending time with Hermione, namely, reading school books.

The next morning, the entire house had a gloomy atmosphere. The dementor mists had gotten thick again, which didn't help tempers. "All you have to do is look the other way for two seconds, sir," Ryua kept saying, "And there won't _be_ anyone for us to be worried about."

"I will not have you thrown in Azkaban, Ryua," was Dumbledore's constant reply. "As of right now, Lucius is a popular, upstanding member of the community, and we cannot do anything that will injure our position further."

"Can't I at least throw a pie at him?"

"It would be a waste of a perfectly good pie," Dumbledore said, although he did chuckle slightly.

The sun burned the mist off by ten. It was blistering hot out, so Ryua borrowed one of Hermione's light, sleeveless vests, and took a rather gothic looking leather arm band out of her great-great-great-great aunt twice-removed's drawer to cover her newest acquisition. "Think anyone'll get suspicious?" she asked Hermione, eying her reflection in a mirror after spending half an hour figuring out how to lace it up.

"Nah. It kind of works for you, actually…"

"Good," Ryua said, sighing with relief. "It's way to damn hot out to wear anything with sleeves…"

True to wizarding tradition, the election had to be held outside. This was supposed to ensure that the elements could watch over the proceedings and give their blessing to whoever was chosen. Ryua had a private hope that the heat would give way to a freak snowstorm and everyone would be so superstitious that they'd toss Lucius out on his fancily-groomed behind…

But the sky stayed clear, the sun beating down as you'd expect at the end of September. The gathering was more enormous than anyone could remember, with a bigger turnout of witches and wizards over the age of 17 than was in the record books. Ryua was pleased to see that even on the magically cooled platform, Lucius was looking rather hot and uncomfortable, slightly nervous at the turnout.

There were a lot more giggly witches in the polls than Ryua would have liked, all wearing buttons with Lucius' too-charming face on them. "Just on hormones alone, he could win this," she murmured to Harry, who was standing next to her.

"There's more than infatuated witches here," he said back, trying to be encouraging.

"Yeah, there's a group of infatuated wizards over there," Ryua pointed, picking out a group of too-pretty-to-be-straight men moving up the queues.

"I was trying to be optimistic…"

"I know," she said, giggling.

The results were projected across every communications device possible to prevent cheating, so everyone could see the numbers growing. Arthur, to give him credit, had an incredible following, all things considered. It was heartening to know that not all the wizarding world was dumb enough to be bought out by Lucius.

However, the outcome was inevitable. Lucius pulled steadily ahead, coming to a two-thirds majority over the other candidates combined. It was rather a good thing that Dumbledore had insisted Harry follow Ryua everywhere, or she would have done something drastic. Like curse the results, kill Lucius, send up the dark mark over his head, summon a demon, burn down the platform…

"Just calm down," Harry hissed in her ear, holding tightly to her shoulders. "There's nothing we can do now. It'll be fine…"

"No it won't," she said furiously, trying to shake him off without causing a scene. "He's vicious, and in Voldemort's pocket!"

"He's not the sole power in the ministry. Anything he wants to do has to go through the lower ministers, and anything major has a public reforandum… We'll be _fine._"

"I think you're underestimating him," Ryua said, although she did stop struggling. "He'll make Minister a dictatorship by Christmas."

"But not right now. And Dumbledore won't let them touch the school. Which is where we'll all be in just a couple days, so relax, alright?"

He had a point, and once Ryua got a hold of her emotions, she could see the point in not doing anything drastic. It gave her the utmost pleasure, however, to notice that a plain, non-magical pigeon relieved itself on Lucius' hair, on his way into the Ministry. Not many people noticed, but Ryua was sure that the Quibbler at least would have a story on the natural world rejecting their choice of leader…

Lucius didn't try anything for the first few weeks, just assured and strengthened his position inside the ministry. This allowed the students and teachers living at the Order to get back to Hogwarts. It made them all feel surprisingly better about the whole situation, actually to be back in the school.

As the students were boarding the train, Ryua scanned the crowd to see how many of her fellow Slytherins would be arriving at school. Ashley made it, dropped off with Ginny personally by Fred and George. Pansy was at the far end, and Crabbe and Goyle were with her. Millicent was nowhere to be seen, or Draco. Ryua's heart sunk at that, and she started to panic slightly. She'd been so sure he'd be back at school…

Cardington, one of the aurors who'd escorted them to the train, startled her out of her thoughts by nudging her shoulder. "Here. You'll be needing this at school."

She jumped, turning around to face him. In his outstreached hands lay a wrapped bundle she recognized as a broomstick. "You finished it!" she said gleefully, not quite snatching it from him.

"Yes," he said. "You'll find it different from any other racing brooms you've been on, I'm afraid."

"Oh?" Ryua asked eagerly, not even noticing the platform was almost empty.

"I'll tell you on the train," he said, steering her onto the nearest compartment. "Or we'll be late for term."

"We? You're too old to be a student, aren't you?"

"I'm only nineteen…" he said, looking almost bashful. Almost. "I'm the Dark Arts teacher for this year."

"Cool." Ryua said. "You'll have no problem impressing people… our last DADA teacher banned wands in her class."

"Really?" he asked, looking surprised at her. "That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, we thought so too. Put together a group of students to study it ourselves, so they banned all clubs, teams, and groups. Naturally, we just found the Room of Requirements and kept on going."

"What's a Room of Requirements?"

"Oh… a room in Hogwarts that becomes whatever you need it to be. Quite helpful, actually. But that's enough about the school. What about this broom?" Ryua asked eagerly, unwrapping it and carefully folding the cloth for reuse.

It was a rich, dark red, which almost seemed to glow in the calm lights. The grain was curly, making an iridescent, rippled effect along the handle. It darkened nicely towards the back, where polished ebony twigs were individually woven on, the tips arranged in a pyramid for better aerodynamics. "Well, it's bloodwood and ebony, as requested," Card said, "And finished with plain waterproof oil. It's hand-shaped, not magically formed, you see. In fact, one of the two spells on it on it is the one allowing it to fly."

"Really?" Ryua asked, running her hand along the slightly curved handle. It would be a foot taller than her standing, and the wood was incredibly smooth.

"Yes. This means no safeties. You'll be able to pull off more stunts that way, but if you lose control, the broom can't do anything to correct it. And ebony has some natural spell-nullifying properties, but added anti-jinx spells interfere with the handling. So, learn to duck more than bludgers."

"No problem there…" Ryua said, thinking that the Nimbus' fancy spells still hadn't been any help over summer. "So, what's the other spell?"

"Well, if someone steals it, you can order it to self destruct."

"… oh. That sounds… actually kind of fun!" she giggled. "It's absolutely beautiful. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Now, I assume you'll want to go search the train?"

"Yeah," Ryua said swallowing nervously. "He's got to be here somewhere…"

"Good luck." Card said, turning away to go find a compartment full of troublemakers to intimidate.

Wrapping her broom back up and tying it on her back, Ryua started to wind her way through the train. She'd never noticed how many people her height had light blonde hair before. She kept thinking Draco was sitting on a bench, or pushing first-years along the corridor, or reaching into the luggage racks. It always turned out to be someone else, though, and she kept searching.

She finally got to the front of the train, and paused in front of the prefect's car. _He has to be here…_There wasn't any movement she could see though the frosted glass, since they were far enough in the journey to have the prefects out on patrol. Gingerly, Ryua eased the door open, looking around. She did a full turn, and there, sitting in the corner right beside the door was her brother. "Draco!" Ryua said, closing and locking the door behind her. "How're you doing?"

"Been better," he said wryly, looking up at her. "But I've been much worse too…"

Ryua plopped beside him, giving him an impulsive hug. "I've been worried sick. The only times I heard from you, you were in pain…"

He laughed, resting his head on her shoulder. "Well… it was a fairly common state of being… So, fill me in, what's been going on? I've only heard bits from Bella about some big plan of Lucius'…

"He's Minister for Magic," Ryua groaned. "Legally, and with a two-thirds majority vote. We tried everything we could to stop him…"

"Ouch." Draco said. "So, what did you do? Bella and …him came down the stairs… said you were doing something dangerous… and that's when they…"

"Yeah, I noticed…" Ryua said dryly, pulling up a sleeve. "I was going to have a very public revelation about what a cruel father Lucius was."

"No way," Draco said, straightening up and looking at her. "You've got some guts."

"It would have worked too…" Ryua said sadly. "I've got enough scars to get him thrown out of the Ministry entirely. But with a Dark Mark…"

"Yeah, he'd have made sure that your arm was 'accidentally' revealed somehow."

"But… it's not a problem right this second. We're both here, alive, and Dumbledore's promised he's welcoming us back. Ashely too."

"Ashley was branded?" Draco said, shocked.

"Yeah, snuck right into a meeting at the Snape manor. Snape brought her to…" Ryua choked off her sentence there, suddenly realizing that she was talking to a Death Eater about the most important secrets of the Order. "…the Weasleys. She's been living in Fred and George's shop since then."

Draco looked calculatingly at her. "You're not telling me something."

"I… I can't…" Ryua said, feeling uncomfortable. "I have to talk to Dumbledore first…"

"Okay…" he said, pushing the matter out of his mind. He was probably better off not knowing. "Maybe I'll go check on Ashley now…"

Ryua grinned. The two of them had some definite chemistry, although she thought they were both probably too shy to do much about it. Not that it mattered, as they were in another arranged marriage. Since Severus hadn't been bothering the Malfoys about it, they all had a tendancy to forget it even existed. Ryua wished the both of them luck, and heartily believed they could actually get along, maybe even like each other. Unlike Lucius and Narcissa… or her and Blaise… "They should just outlaw the things…" she muttered, before wandering off to find Harry on the train.

Author's Note: I dont' really like this chapter... but it had to be written, and I wanted to update this week, so...

Does anybody have anything they'd like to see happen at school? Just so I have some ideas for the too-common days of writers' block.


	15. School

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

School

Ryua was glad to make it to Hogwarts in one piece; she half expected the train to be attacked by Death Eaters on the way. From the way the prefects kept checking the cars nervously, they'd been told it was a possibility too. Ginny came into Ryua's and Harry's compartment before she'd been there ten minutes, shuddering. "Your brother came in to visit Ashley… I've never seen such a disgusting display…"

"Well, they… actually, yeah, that's kind of gross to imagine… there are just some things you don't want to think about your brother doing…"

"No kidding. So, I came to prevent you two from doing anything similarly disgusting! Because I need someone relatively normal here…" Ginny said cheerfully, plunking down between them.

"You need a boyfriend, Ginny," Harry said, laughing. "Although, don't tell any of your brothers I said that… they'll kill me."

"They like you too much," Ginny said. "But they might seriously maim you, so let's talk about something else, eh?"

"Like?"

And so they got buried in a discussion about quidditch, each swearing to flatten the other in the house cup. Ryua took the opportunity to show off her broom, and they all ogled over it until the train pulled up at the Hogwarts station. It wasn't raining, so they all got into the Thestral carriages warm and dry, for a change. Teachers were stationed all along the road up to the school; Dumbledore wasn't taking any chances.

Once everyone was inside, and the great doors were shut, the atmosphere dissolved into its normal excited cheerfulness. Ryua reluctantly moved towards the Slytherin table, sitting beside Draco, who it appeared, hadn't let go of Ashley's hand since they came in. "You know… you'll both want your hands for eating…" Ryua said, poking her brother in the shoulder.

Ashley jumped and pulled her hand away, blushing slightly. She'd always been a bit shy about showing any affections in public. Draco sighed and poked Ryua back. "What'd you do that for?"

"Oh come on, I'm sure you can stand to not have physical contact for a few minutes…"

Draco pretended to grumble for a minute or so, but was too happy to do it for long. And he looked even happier to see the food appear on the table. "I haven't had a decent meal in weeks," he said, piling his plate with everything in sight. "Or even a large one, or a warm one…"

"Well, go slow enough you don't make yourself sick then," Ryua said laughing, stopping him from dishing a third spoon of carrots on top of his roast beef, potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire puddings, broccoli, peas, and a slice of bread that got mixed up in the confusion.

He grinned sort of sheepishly, and started to wolf his food. Ashley poked him this time, saying, "She's right, you know, you'll give yourself a stomachache if you eat that fast…"

So surrounded by irritating well doers, Draco sighed, slowing his pace enough to finish chewing before he swallowed. The plate of biscuits and gravy stayed nicely in front of him when the rest of the table emptied itself of food. Draco and Ryua helped themselves to some while they listened to Dumbledore's speech, and Ashley looked vaguely revolted that either of them could still swallow.

"First of all, I would like to say welcome back, to all of you who've come!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically. It was only then that Ryua noticed the gaps around the other house tables. Apparently, some families thought it wasn't safe to come to Hogwarts. _Idiots…_ "I personally promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe this year, regardless of what shall occur.

"As you have no doubt all come to believe now, Lord Voldemort is back in full force. His Death Eater ranks are swelling," and here a few of the Slytherin house winced slightly, "And I am therefore even more glad than ever to have you all here now.

"For you are part of this world, and not safe from attack, unfortunately. The teachers in this school will do everything they can to protect you throughout the school year, and teach you how to protect yourself out of it. And with that, I would like to welcome our newest Defense teacher, Professor Cardington Greenbay." Card, looking vaguely uncomfortable to be the center of attention, got up and bowed. The applause was much more welcoming than it had been the last two years, especially from the more infatuated witches in the crowd.

"I would like to ask all of you to be more careful than ever before," Dumbledore said gravely, easily quelling the whispers in the crowd. "As there is much danger afoot, more so even than I can identify outright. I would ask you all to avoid the forest, and the grounds after dark. If you must go somewhere at night, have a teacher or prefect accompany you. And please, do as the Sorting Hat has requested and _try_ to get along. It may prove to be more important than you realize."

Slightly disquietened, the students filed out, muttering to each other. "Dumbledore's worried. Until now, it seemed like it wasn't going to be a danger to us… but now he's worried. It takes a lot to get that man worried…" Ashley said, walking down the hallway with Draco at her side.

"I know…" Ryua said. "But on the bright side… you've kind of got asylum on both sides. I mean, no Death Eater attack is going to get either of you killed…"

"They might kill me to get to you…" Draco put in, determined to find some bad in his situation.

"Would you lighten up?" Ryua groaned. "We'll be fine. They won't try a direct assault on the school anyways. Not unless it's the last part of the wizarding world left standing."

"And why, exactly, do we have to be friendly with the Gryffindors?" Draco complained.

"It's not just the Gryffindors," Ashley said reasonably. It's the rest of the school too…"

"And they aren't all so bad," Ryua said, thinking of certain events that had occurred over the summer.

"Really? Had a wide range of experience, have you?" Draco scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

Seeing Ryua at a momentary loss for words, Ashley stepped in, saying, "Ginny Weasley's not that bad. She's been watching out for me this summer."

"And so were Fred and George," Ryua said, eagerly grabbing at Ashley's lead. "And they patched me up too." She absently traced the thin scar running down her cheek, the only real remnant of the fight this summer.

"Fine. There are a _few_ who aren't scum of the earth."

_Good enough… I'm going to have to tell him eventually…_ A brief scene flashed in front of her eyes, one which involved a lot of screaming, blood and hate…_ but not right now,_ she decided. "Well, we don't have to worry, as they're in the opposite end of the school anyways."

Just as they finally got down the many flights of stairs to their common room, Card appeared out of nowhere, taking Ryua's arm and leading her off. "What? I swear I haven't jinxed anyone since I got here…" she said, slightly confused.

"I have to talk to you," he said.

"Well, couldn't you just ask like a normal person, instead of dragging me off like I'm some kind of criminal?"

He raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. Apparently, he didn't consider himself normal enough to do something so mundane.

"Fine. You win. What is it, so I can go to bed."

"I have more than one function in the school."

Ryua blinked. "… and I care… why? Everyone has more than one function in the school."

"I am here to protect Hermione, Ronald, and yourself; the three people most likely to be used as hostages or bait for Harry."

"Would you keep your voice down," Ryua hissed, glancing over her shoulder. "Most people don't think I care about them past using Hermione's research skills. It'll be ugly when it comes out into the open, I'm putting it off as long as possible."

He nodded, accepting her logic for the meantime. "Very well. The point still remains, however, that I am here to protect you, aside from the protection I already give as a teacher."

"That's nice. Do you think I can't take care of myself, or something?" Ryua said hotly. She knew she could fight, and hold her own against any one or two Death Eaters. It rankled that someone barely three years older than her was acting like a nanny…

"I didn't say that. I'll be spending more of my time with the Gryffindors, for that reason. I'll keep checking in on you."

"And I said I'll be fine without your help."

"We'll see." Card said, before turning abruptly and walking away. Ryua was left irritated and suddenly alone in the corridor. Muttering nasty things under her breath about how certain stuck up snobs ought to mind their own business, she stalked back to the common room, and promptly tried to forget the conversation had ever happened.

Author's Note: Urgh… filler chapter. Sorry… nuthin' else would turn itself into print…

Thanks for all of you who are leaving reviews! It really makes me want to write more, especially when I get a useful idea from someone…


	16. Class

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Class

The next morning at breakfast, Snape made his way down the small Slytherin table, handing out the sixth year timetables. Ryua was faintly surprised to see Crabbe and Goyle with as many classes on their sheets as there were. Pansy was down almost as far, with just Transfiguration, Charms, Divination, Food Charms, and Herbology.

Ryua was overjoyed to be able to dump her Charms class. She giggled somewhat evilly when Snape erased it from her timetable. Everything else she kept though, including Care of Magical Creatures. She'd debated it a while, but then decided that she enjoyed the chance to get outside, and it was something no one else in her house was still doing.

Draco cheerfully dropped Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Transfiguration. Flitwick had dropped hints about healing charms in the advanced classes, and he was eager to learn some. Ryua was curious, but knew she couldn't handle the rest of the course, even assuming she could pull off a healing charm. Knowing her past, she'd probably end up dissolving the flesh instead of knitting it…

And the class combinations had been changed around for the first time she could remember. Potions, which was a much smaller class than before, now held the Ravenclaws as well. Apparently, there weren't any Hufflepuffs in the class. Transfiguration remained with Hufflepuff, Arithmancy was still a mixed class, and DADA was with the Gryffindor house, letting Hufflepuff partner the less violent Ravenclaws. Rather sensible, actually…

Not only that, but she had the first DADA class. A couple of younger girls looked enviously at her timetable, sighing over the newest teacher. Ryua privately thought that he'd wrangled an older class, especially one full of people that knew him just so he didn't have to deal with the giggly fangirls at the beginning. She and Draco claimed their own table, at the back of the class. They'd both silently decided that they just felt better without anyone behind them.

Card came in, the picture of dignity and aloofness. He surveyed the class, nodding as he counted off everyone on the register, and checking to see that everyone he knew was there. "Well. Welcome to your first Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts class," he stated calmly. "For those of you who didn't catch it last night, my name is Cardington Greenbay. I usually go as Card. It's easier."

"Sure, Professor Card," Ryua said from the back, earning a dig in the ribs from Draco.

"That will do fine," he said with a faint smile. "Now, the biggest difference you'll notice this year is that we do the majority of our spellcasting silently. There are times when you'll need to speak, for a very complicated spell, or one you naturally have troubles with. However, it is usually beneficial to cast without letting your opponent know what you're doing."

To everyone's surprise, Neville's hand tentatively crept into the air. "Sir… does this mean that we'll get to practice casting magic this year?"

"Of course Mr… Longbottom. What is the point of a Defense class if you don't learn how to defend yourself?" Card asked with a bit of surprise.

"Professor, our last teacher didn't let us practice magic." Hermione said, saving Neville from Card's interrogation. "Some of us formed a group to do it ourselves, but…"

"If I remember correctly, extra-curricular groups were banned last year?" Card asked, seeming slightly amused.

"Er… yes sir…" Hermione said, ducking her head.

There was no doubting the amusement in his voice now. "Well, you won't have to go to illegal lengths in order to learn magic this year. Except during the Unforgiveables unit, of course," he said blandly. No one seemed quite able to tell if he were joking or not. "Anyways, we'll all start with something you should all have by now. Pair off, and one partner puts up a shield while the other attempts to jinx through it. Without speaking, of course. This includes whispering and mouthing the words. I will switch the pairs randomly to ensure a fair evaluation. Go."

"I'll shield," Ryua said, as the desks pulled away to the sides of the room when she and Draco stood up. He backed up a few steps and raised his wand. Seeing he wasn't going to give her any chance to prepare, Ryua snapped up the one shield she knew she could do silently, the mirror bubble she'd used that summer. Draco snapped his wand forward, concentrating, and… nothing happened. Licking his lips, he tried again, and Ryua felt her bubble vibrate slightly. "What are you trying?" she asked.

"Knock-back jinx…" Draco said, gritting his teeth and trying again.

She felt another slight impact and sighed. "Let me drop the shield, I want to see how you're actually doing casting it." She dismissed the shield, dissipating it into a cloud of light. Bracing herself, she nodded at Draco. His wand snapped down, his face a mask of concentration. An invisible force buffeted her, knocking her back a step, two…

That was it. He hadn't even forced her a metre. "That… could have worked better." Draco said disgustedly.

"Don't worry about it so much," Ryua said. "At least you got some effect…" She looked askance around the class. Ron was wobbling a bit from a jelly-legs jinx, but that was mostly because he couldn't summon a shield without speaking. Everyone else looked like a bunch of first years. "My turn. You get a shield up first."

"You're really sure you'll have that much better luck?"

"You want to take the chance that I won't?"

"Good point…" After a few tries, Draco managed to pull up a shimmering screen, and Ryua commenced trying to batter it down. The first one didn't work at all. Disgusted, Ryua closed her eyes, concentrating as she had when trying to work magic without a wand.

She stood there, reaching down into her magic pool, pushing it into her wand manually. Apparently, this took longer than she thought, because when she let fly with a silent Rictoshempra, Draco collapsed at her feet. "What are you doing over here?" she asked, lifting the charm.

"You just stood there for ages. I thought you'd blacked out or something…" he said, gasping.

"I was trying to shove the magic through my wand without telling it… it's hard to explain," she said, giving him a hand up. "Sorry…"

"It's alright… I ought to know better…" Draco said shaking his head. Without warning, he sent a jet of red light at her, trying his hardest to catch her off guard. She yelped, jumping backwards and throwing up her mirror shield. It wasn't perfect, but did glance the stunner off towards Harry…

Who obediently collapsed on the floor, making Neville jump in surprise. "Er… Harry? You okay?" he asked nervously.

"He's fine, Longbottom," Ryua said walking over. "That was Draco's spell, not yours."

"Oh, okay…" Neville said, looking somewhat relieved. Since he'd been trying to cast Jelly Legs, his concern was understandable.

Cardington came over to see what the fuss was. "Malfoy's spell? Well done, both of you. Ten points." Reviving Harry, he switched the partners. "Ryua, see what you can do with Longbottom here. He's missing something."

"Like that's not normal," Neville said sadly. "I'm _always_ missing something."

"Oh, we'll get you going," Ryua said, taking up position in front of him. "First, how are you trying to cast magic?"

"I don't know… I have enough troubles with it when I'm allowed to talk…"

"Quit pretending like you can't fight, Longbottom!" Ryua snapped. "I've seen you toss around jinxes with the best of them. Now, pick a spell you like, and use it!"

Taken aback, Neville went slightly pale, although he did raise his wand. He had to stop to duck one of Harry's spells; naturally, he and Draco were trying to cause as much damage as possible, but rallied and tried his absolute hardest to cast Furnunculus.

Ryua blocked it with just a light push of her wand, but smiled at him encouragingly. "See? You can so do it. Tell me… have you ever used that spell on someone? Or better yet, been hit by it? If you know what the spell does, you have a better chance of doing it successfully."

"Erm… I did hit Seamus with it once…and then ran before Dean could get me."

"Why did you hit Seamus? Isn't he one of your friends?"

To her immense surprise, Neville grinned sheepishly. "He'd tried to kiss Ginny. She wasn't amused… and Ron wasn't around… so I played the part of offended older brother."

"Hah! Good for you!" Ryua said laughing. "Of course, since you didn't stick around for the effects, you ought to pick something you know better."

He winced as he thought. "Unfortunately, the spell I can remember most vividly is unforgivable…"

"Oooh, please pick a different one then, as those are unblockable." Ryua said. "Plus, you're too sweet to use something like that. You need a real mean streak to get it to work. Anything else spring to mind?"

"I don't… wait!" Neville exclaimed, raising his wand. Ryua raised a full shield this time, angling it so it would bounce towards Seamus. She was in a bit of a mood towards him now.

"Okay, just concentrate on your magic, how it feels when you cast a spell normally. Just make it do the same thing, and think very hard about what you want it to do…" She broke off as something bounced hard off her shield, hitting Seamus from behind. He yelped, jumping. And kept jumping, in an irregular rhythm…

"Tarrentallegra," Neville said proudly. "Harmless, perfectly legal, and rather incapacitating…"

"Good job," came Card's voice over from where he was separating Harry and Draco. "Ten points."

"Hey, if he keeps bothering Ginny, tell him I'm watching out for her." Ryua said, nulling Neville's spell. "I'll cheerfully scare the crap out of him. Same goes for you too, you know,"

"It's like having the Mafia at your beck and call…" Neville said laughing.

"Everybody needs someone intimidating to turn to once in awhile…"

"Who do you have?" Neville asked curiously.

Ryua blinked at him, momentarily stalled. "Well… it depends who I'm talking to. I can bluff about having Lucius, Voldemort, and the Death Eaters behind me to someone like you… and to them, I've got the DA, Dumbledore, and Harry. That's if I don't kill whoever's bothering me myself, of course."

"You really ought to curb that violent streak, you know," Neville said, shuddering.

"But it's so much fun…"

Author's Note: I swear I'm trying, HPF, they just keep on being somewhere public...


	17. Flying

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Flying

Transfiguration was a lot more work; it was surprisingly difficult to transfigure a teacup without speaking. Justin did manage to turn his into half an acorn, but he was the only one with any sort of success. He got ten points, but McGonnagall didn't seem too worried about the rest of the class' lack of success. Luckily…

She had the oddest urge to send Harry a note at lunch. Not something useful, or saying anything in particular, she just wanted to bother him. Unfortunately, since she was owl-less, and snake-less to boot, and Draco's Eagle owl would be just a little conspicuous, she just had to give up. Arithmancy was the only class she had so far that wasn't much changed. Since they didn't cast magic, it didn't matter if they spoke out loud or not.

That evening, Ryua went right downstairs after supper and dug out her broom. She'd been putting some of the nastiest protection spells she knew on it; although she doubted the Quidditch team would borrow it, she didn't put it past Pansy to try and do something to it.

_One other good point at having no excess spells,_ she thought, _is it's really easy to tell if anything's been altered. _A quick magical scan, and a physical check were all she needed. Maybe she was just being paranoid… but she wasn't about to take the chance.

Pulling on her light green Weasley Jumper, she left before anyone else was back to the common room, wanting to be left alone while she tried her new toy out. There was still plenty of light since it was summer, which meant she'd be clearly visible to anyone watching. Shaking her head angrily, she tried to banish that nagging little voice. _I'm in Hogwarts. I can stop being paranoid for a few seconds._

Once she was in the air, it became rather difficult to concentrate on anything other than flying, of course. It handled much sharper than her old Nimbus, even the smallest shift of her hands turning the broom. She stayed low until she had gotten the hang of it. No need to be seen as a fledgling flyer above the trees… that was ego, not paranoia, she told herself. Once she'd practiced as much as she could at low altitude and speed, Ryua leaned forward and angled up.

The explosion of speed almost knocked her off. This thing accelerated _fast,_ rocketing her above the trees almost before she noticed. It was missing a few of the stabilizing charms built into the mainstream brooms, ones that you didn't notice until they weren't there. Suddenly, the wind seemed a much more intense force, way more of an impact on her flight than before. She experimented for a while with ducking in and out of the wind streams, finding the different cross currents, exploring all over the pitch to pinpoint gullies and cross drafts.

_I'm willing to bet the balls don't have that many stabilizers on them either. _If she could learn to fly easily with the changes in the wind, she could have just that little bit more of a hint as to what the quaffle would be doing next… although holding still was a problem. Good thing Josh was replacing her as keeper, she wouldn't be able to hold position if there was any sort of wind.

It was more like she was in tune with the air now, instead of just existing in it. It was really an indescribably good feeling, very powerful and free. Her two favorite modes of existence… Ryua felt like she could handle anything right now, a nice change.

So it was with a thrill of excitement that she saw a familiar tousle-haired head rising up to meet her on a Firebolt. "Fancy moves, Malfoy," Harry said, also looking near ecstatic to be back in the air.

"It's this broom…" Ryua said, petting it happily. "I could fly circles around anything I've ever been on."

"I doubt you could catch me," Harry said cockily. "That thing might be pretty, but…"

Snorting in disagreement, she shot forward and clipped him lightly on the ear. "Come and get me if you're so wonderful…"

Shaking his head to clear the ringing she left in his ear, Harry shot after her. Their acceleration was roughly the same, but his flat out speed was a little higher. Coming up quickly above her, he triumphantly reached down to tag her.

Ryua pulled a full stop. She almost threw herself from the broom, actually, but Harry overshot her by at least fifty yards. "And they call you the best seeker in a century? You can't even catch me…"

Insulted, he shot towards her, laughing. Ryua underestimated his speed, but instead of ploughing into her, he swerved off suddenly, a look of surprise on his face. Ryua laughed at him. "Safety features… you can't hit anything at that speed, your broom takes over!" Shooting straight up, she hunched her shoulder forwards, smacking into him hard enough to set him scrambling. "But I can! I have no safeties on this thing…"

"And you're proud of that?" he asked, wincing slightly.

"Yes…" she said, giggling somewhat insanely. "Come on, I wanna see how much I can do with this." Recklessly, she dove almost straight down, exalting in the incredible wind in her face. She wrenched level, just skimming the ground and shot towards the forest. Ryua reluctantly slowed down enough to safely maneuver the trees, glancing back quickly to see if Harry was following her.

He was, naturally. No boy could turn down a challenge, especially not one from a girl. Laughing, she shot into the forest, just a few feet above the ground, in the clear space between the underbrush and the canopy. She didn't dare look back now, as the trees here grew thick and strange. Most of them were straight and stationary, but there was the occasional one leaning almost sideways, or with low branches, or that had a nasty habit of eating passing beings…

She passed a group of curious Thestrals, who raced her for a while, looking like shadows in the trees. It wasn't until Ryua noticed there weren't any more occasional pools of sunlight on the ground that she realized she'd probably better stop and get her bearings. She could be anywhere in the forest by now, especially since she couldn't even make out the setting sun through the thick trees. Slowing to a halt in a tiny clearing, she turned around to see what had happened to Harry.

A minute or so later, he almost bowled her over. Spinning around and grinding to a halt, he leaned forwards panting. "I lost you for about the last five minutes… It's lucky for me that you're wearing such a light shirt…"

"Mmm, and so snuggly…" Ryua said, hugging herself giddily. "The lot of you are incredibly lucky to have these things…"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Not to mention the food."

"Yes. Absolutely… I wish I'd been born a Weasley." Ryua said, gliding down to the ground. They could see the sky here, light enough that they didn't have to head back immediately. She was on an insane adrenaline high, heart beating rapidly, breathing deeply, feeling wildly alive and happy. Eyes twinkling wickedly, she looked up at Harry. "Come down here."

Curiously, he sunk slowly down. Impatient, Ryua pulled him off his broom, steadying him as he got his feet under him. The moment he almost stopped staggering, she kissed him, holding him tightly against her. He staggered a little more, putting his hands on her shoulders to steady himself.

Chuckling a little, Ryua set about seeing just how unstable she could make him. She slid her tongue along his lips, teasing them open and sliding along the inside of his mouth. Her left hand slid up into his hair, her right trailing down his back, and she slipped her fingers under his shirt, making him pull away and gasp. "Your fingers are cold," he whispered in her ear.

"I'll have to warm them up then…" she murmered, laughing a bit. They were cold from the wind, and his back was so warm… Feeling slightly evil, and enjoying herself immensely, she slid both hands under, trailing lightly along his spine, laughing at the way it made him shudder. She kissed him again, feeling his heart pound against her chest.

Perhaps he was feeling unfairly exposed, with the breeze chilling his slightly damp back, but without warning, Harry switched his hands from her shoulders to her belly. It was her turn to gasp this time, arching back, her hands slipping down a ways. Pleased with his payback, he lightly walked his fingers up her skin.

His light touch made Ryua's skin tingle, her hands tightening reflexively around his waist. She started to wonder just how far up he'd go, realizing suddenly that she'd never really paid attention to just how _long_ that stretch of skin was…

He switched his hands to her back, pulling her towards him, and suddenly his mouth was on her neck, hot, leaving icy trails behind, making her skin prickle. She rolled her head back as Harry moved around to the front, licking the hollow in her throat, nipping lightly on her collarbone, where it was exposed a little above the sweater.

She wondered vaguely if he had any idea how he was making her feel right then. If asked, she couldn't even explain it, all hot, shivery, tickling and exhilarated… and so damn good she thought she might pass out.

Even in the cooling dusk air, she felt too hot, moving away just long enough to pull her sweater off. Ryua was suddenly much cooler and shivering slightly, decided the logical thing to do would be to thoroughly wrap herself around Harry. He felt much closer without the heavy sweater separating them, and an odd rushing feeling started up in her stomach. She felt like she was diving straight down at top speed, and everything he was doing made her go faster…

He moved to her ear, delicately tracing the intricate curves with his tongue, nipping lightly on the lobe. Ryua's entire right side tingled, from her shoulder down, and she moaned, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What?" he murmured, his lips tickling the skin just below her ear.

"Oh, do that _again…"_ she gasped, her hands grasping at his shoulders. He laughed; she felt the vibrations all along her shoulder and ribcage; and he bent his head down again, obliging her. Why that was such an intense feeling completely escaped her… maybe it was because it was so sensitive to sound already… but even the light pressure from his breath just added to it…

He pulled away for just a moment, and Ryua pulled him into a deep kiss, feeling like she desperately needed to do _something_… her back was crawling with just the most incredibly good tingling, driving her half mad. She pressed herself against him, trying to steady herself, every joint in her body felt suddenly like water…

Apparently his did too, as Harry sunk carefully to the ground before either of them fell over. She could feel the forest floor pressing against her knees, moss and twigs and dirt, still warm from the summer's heat. Putting a hand to his chest, Ryua pushed him gently backwards, leaning over on top of him. Her hair swept forwards, and she pulled it over to one side of her head to try and keep it under control.

He looked up at her, eyes almost seeming to glow in the strange evening light. A solitary lock of her hair was laying across his neck and chest, a silvery gold ribbon. He reached up, pulling her hair off, twisting it around his fingers. It tugged slightly, making Ryua think she ought to bend down again.

She did, kissing his neck gently. His skin was warm, almost hot to the touch, tasting just lightly salty. Enjoying the way his breath hitched, Ryua kept going, working from just below his jaw to the line of his shirt, shifting her position so one of her hands could slip back under his shirt. Even laying down, she could feel the tight muscles on his stomach and chest, running her fingers over his skin, exploring curiously.

Suddenly, he groaned, flipping her over and rolling half on top of her. "You have to stop that or neither of us is getting back to the castle tonight…" he muttered, face buried in her neck. She laughed happily, but did stop stroking him. "Actually, we ought to be getting back, we've lost the sun…"

Ryua blinked. She hadn't noticed until he said anything, but it was suddenly much harder to see him. "I guess… don't really need detention this early on, I suppose."

"Well, I've had it earlier," he said reminiscing, "But that doesn't mean I want to repeat the experience…"

Harry's broom had stayed hovering docily where he'd left it so abruptly, and hers was laying in a patch of grass to one side. Ryua pulled her sweater back on, as the air was suddenly much cooler without Harry on top of her, and they both rose just a little above the treeline. Hogwarts was still quite visible, it's lighted windows showing up easily against the purple sky.

It wasn't until they were at one of the side entrances that Harry turned to her. "How are you planning to get down to the dungeons without being seen?"

"Sneaking…"

"With the security on your house?" Harry asked. "I'd better take you."

She giggled, letting him wrap them both in his cloak. "As long as you actually let me go to bed once we get there."

"Well… maybe not right away," he said playfully, nipping her ear as they entered the school.

Author's Note: Oooh, so much fun… This was a completely pointless chapter, actually, but I rather enjoyed it…


	18. Confessions

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Confessions

"Where have you _been_?" Hermione hissed when Harry finally climbed through the portrait hole.

"Playing Quidditch…" he replied cheerfully.

"Not for the last couple hours…" she said, tapping her foot. "You disappeared from the pitch ages ago."

"Not going to believe it took me two hours to walk back?" Harry asked hopefully. From the look on her face, it was easy to tell her response. He sighed. "Didn't think so…"

"Oh, leave off, Hermione," Ron said, grinning from the couch. "This isn't anything you discuss with women… no offense. I'll get it out of him… you go off to bed."

Protesting, she was pushed to the foot of the stairs, Ron waiting until she went up before he turned away. "So, mate? How was it?"

"Don't you have something better to do than bother me about my leisure time?"

"Not really."

Harry scowled at him… but broke into a grin before long. He couldn't hold it in anymore…

Ryua's homecoming wasn't quite as smooth. Sunset in September came late enough that everyone was in bed. Everyone except Draco of course. "Where have you _been_?" he asked mildly. "I haven't been able to sleep."

"You know I can take care of myself, and nothing's going to happen to me in Hogwarts," Ryua said, trying her best to evade the question.

"That's not what I mean," he said. "You've been keeping me up. Adrenaline, among other things…"

"We have to do something about that, I suppose," Ryua said, still ignoring most of what he was implying. "I mean, we won't always be doing the same things… one of us will be doing something strenuous…"

"Who is it?"

"Who is who?" Ryua asked blankly. "I was just trying out my broom…"

"In the dark?"

"Obviously…" She was carefully not worrying, since she knew he'd pick it up…

"You have the most foolish little grin on your face, you know that?"

The aforementioned grin disappeared in a large hurry. "No I don't."

"You did."

"I did not."

"Who is it?"

"Nobody…"

"Ryua…"

"Nobody, Draco…"

"What? What is the big problem?" he asked. "He's not threatening you, is he?"

"Wha…no! I mean…"

"So, there is someone. Who. Is. It."

"Draco, please…"

"Who?"

"Nobody. You were probably just imagining… whatever it was you thought you felt…"

Draco looked at her amusedly. "Who is it?"

"Nobody you need to know about."

"Is it a girl?"

Ryua blinked.

"If that's it, I don't know what you're so worried about, as long as you leave Ashley alone…"

"Oh, shut up, I'm not after Ashley. Or any other girls."

"Is it a teacher? Severus? Card?"

"No! There's nobody!"

"There is. And it's someone you don't think I'll approve of…"

Something snapped. "It's Harry, alright?" Ryua hissed, glaring at him.

It looked like Draco had been hit over the head with a bludger. "Who?"

"I'm not starting that again."

He shook his head. "I know… but… Potter?"

Ryua sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Yes. Potter. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, our arch rival, the one Voldemort would give anything to have his nasty little hands on. That one."

He still couldn't quite seem to grasp it. "Potter?"

"How many other names does he have? Yes. Him."

"Why does it have to be him?"

Ryua rolled her eyes, but laughed. "You know, that's exactly what Severus asked…"

"How long has he known?"

"Almost as long as I have…"

Draco looked slightly pained. "Anyone else?"

"His friends… Dumbledore… and Ashley. She found out this summer."

"Ashley knew? And she didn't tell me?"

Ryua glared at him. "Don't you dare yell at her. She didn't see you until just a couple days ago, and probably didn't want to worry you."

"All right, all right…" Draco said, holding up his hands. "I'll be nice. I promise."

"You'd better be," Ryua grumbled. "I don't want to go through the trouble of replacing a chaser."

"I wouldn't bother her enough to make her drop the team…"

"No, but I'd kick you off for making her miserable, and have to take your place, and be out someone to fill my spot."

"Aren't we feeling sadistic today…"

"That's all your fault," Ryua said, before turning down the girls' cooridor. "I'm going to bed."

It took Draco a long time to fall asleep that night. Bad enough that his sister had a boyfriend… worse it was one he hated so badly. And they were obviously serious. The sheer volume of her good mood was enough to tell that. Draco was just glad he didn't get any images with his emotions… He shuddered. There were just some things you didn't need to see your sister doing…

The next morning started off with a Charms class, which meant that Ryua had her first free period. She couldn't help waking up as early usual, but not having to rush anywhere was a very nice difference. She smiled cheerfully and waved her fellow students off to Charms, relishing the ability to stay sitting at the tables… And not only that, but while she was wandering the corridors, she saw Harry and Ron meandering around. "Dropped a class too?" she asked cheerfully.

"Divination," Harry said brightly, Ron nodding enthusiasticly.

"That Trelawny was batty…" he said, "And Firenze wasn't much better."

"This is why I never took it," Ryua replied, following them down the corridor. "I've finally dumped Charms, myself…"

"Yeah, I remember you always hated that one."

"You have no idea. So, what are you boys up to?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Ron declared happily. "And loving every second of it…"

"Not doing homework?" Ryua asked innocently. At Ron's disgusted stare, she chuckled. "Me either…"

They talked about nothing important, wandering aimlessly down the halls for a while. Ryua suddenly remembered the events of last night, dropping nonchalantly into a discussion about quidditch, "Oh, and Draco knows, by the way…"

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "He _knows_?"

"Yeah," she said, ducking her head. "Badgered it out of me last night…"

"Great…" he groaned. "I suppose this means that I'm supposed to pack around my wand now?"

"I don't think he'll… oh, maybe you'd better," Ryua said, grimacing. "Although I doubt he'll tell anyone else."

"Oh, good. Just one Malfoy, bent on murder coming after me. I feel so much better," Harry said sarcasticly.

"Nah. Draco's not a killer… he might chop off a few limbs though…"

Ron seemed to find this little problem entertaining. He seemed incapable of not laughing… "Shut up, Ron…"

"I'm sorry, mate…" Ron said gleefully. "I'm not sure why this seems so funny… It's just that with all of your famousness, and worries about such bizarrely awful occurrences… you suddenly have to worry about your girlfriends' big brother…"

"Little brother, if you want to split hairs," Ryua interjected.

"Whatever. It just seems so normal… completely out of character for you, Harry!" he finished, before cracking up again.

"He has a point there," Ryua said smiling. "It's actually kind of nice to be worried about something so normal for a change."

At least, it was nice for Ryua. Harry, on the other hand, spent the day checking behind him in the hallways. "Just once, I'd like to spend some time at school where I don't have to be paranoid, you know?" he complained to Hermione at lunch.

"It does sort of seem a natural state of existence for you…" she said, shaking her head as she dished up some soup. "Although I'm not too sure what you're worried about. You could take on Malfoy in a fight."

"You seem awful sure of that." Harry remarked, sighing. "Even if I did, I don't really want to injure Ryua's only family…"

"Only family?"

"Lucius disowned her… years after she stopped thinking of him as a father."

"Ouch. Well… at least he won't kill you. He wouldn't hurt Ryua that way."

"So all I have to do is avoid the non-permanent spells? Wonderful. You do realize that most of the spells those twins know are non-permanent torture spells?"

Apparently, Hermione didn't have anything to say to that. She just buttered some biscuits, carefully not looking at him.

When Ryua was in Transfiguration that afternoon, with Draco and Harry on free periods, Harry finally looked back to see Draco following him. Steeling himself, Harry stopped and turned around. "So."

"What the bloody hell were you thinking touching my sister?" Draco snapped. A brilliant start to a wonderful converasation…

"I…"

"As if she didn't have enough to worry about, she now has to worry about the world's biggest fathead messing up her life?"

"Hey…"

"Don't you have any idea what a terrible idea this is? You could get her killed!" Draco said, his voice almost a shriek.

Harry sighed, and pulled him into an empty classroom. "Listen to me," he said, soundproofing the door. "I would never do anything…"

"You don't have to do anything, Potter! Just the fact that you're close to her… or rather, she's close to you. Getting killed by a jealous fangirl would be the least of her worries…" he broke off with something eerily close to a sob.

Harry froze, looking at him. "Are you okay…"

"I'm absolutely fine, Potter," Draco snapped. "Do you have any idea what he'll do to her if he finds out what's happening between you two?"

"I have a vague notion, yeah." Harry said. "The same thing he's been trying to do to me since the day I was born?"

"No. He'll take her, either through Lucius or a blitz on the school, or by using me. And he won't kill her. He'll torture her. I'm sure you know what happened to Longbottom's parents by now? Ryua's more stubborn than them. And he won't torture her to the point of insanity either, because what use to you would she be then? No, he'll take a break, maybe do something nice for her, bring her hopes up. And then crack down again. Maybe use acid to burn off a few appendages at a time… or let the Death Eaters have their fun with her. You must know what that would do to her. You are absolutely too nice of a person to have any idea what you could make her life like."

Try as he might, Harry had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. A vague thought played through his mind that Draco had way too much time to think up torture methods…

"So, you had better not screw up, or I'll make what happens to her look like a pleasant summer afternoon." Draco said, turning abruptly away and storming out.


	19. Occlumency

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Occlumency

Ashley could tell by the look on Draco's face that night that something monumentus had happened. When they both went out on Prefect duty that night, she made a point of partnering him so she could ask him about it. "What happened to you?"

"Hmm?" he asked, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

"Draco…"

"That obvious?" he sighed. "I just found out about Potter today…"

Ashley winced. "Oooh. Yeah, that would do it… I would have told you, if I'd known sooner…"

"Ryua said something to that effect, yeah…" Draco said. "Well… I suppose he's a little better than Blaise Zabini was."

"Worlds better…"

"Don't push it."

She laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly. "Okay, okay… It's not like anything you could do anything about it."

"Thank you for that vote of confidence," he said dryly. Laughing slightly, he shook his head. "I know, once she's made up her mind… and this isn't going to be a nice little summer fling, I can just tell…"

"No kidding. Just to spite the world, she's gonna marry him, I'm sure…"

He raised a finger in rebuke. "Don't even think that, please…"

"Okay," she laughed, leaning on his shoulder. "I think we ought to stop talking about it before you blow something up."

"Good idea," he said, absently wrapping his arm around her shoulders. The change in personality she was capable of never ceased to amaze him. Around most of the world, she was withdrawn, dark, quiet… even among her friends she was the most reserved, the least likely to make a joke or laugh… And then, on those rare times when he could get her alone or with Severus, she completely changed.

The usually reserved, withdrawn girl became light and cheerful and affectionate… like someone switched a light. It made Severus happy to no end, although he did try to hide it under glowering and grumbling. The man was too distant from normal life, and it was good for him to have a niece that was so determined to cheer him up despite his protests.

Draco, on the other hand, liked being cheered up. Any time Ashley was willing to be alone with him for any period of time was just fine by him… Feeling more like himself again, he tightened his arm a little, pulling her towards him. She obligingly moved closer, her body fitting against him perfectly. His arm drifted down from her shoulders, following along the curve of her body, coming to rest on her hip

Giggling, she turned to face him, looking up slightly. Ashley was a little shorter than the twins, but taller than Pansy. And much, much cuter too… Draco pulled her abruptly against him, earning a quietly startled shriek from Ashley as she fell into his arms. Holding her securely up, he kissed her, drinking in the feeling of being close to her.

She pulled away, cheeks flushed, as she tried to get her feet back under her. Draco looked down at her for a moment, studying her slightly embarrassed, cheerful face. "You want to do that here? In the hallway?" she asked, looking over her shoulder like she expected the Creevy brothers to attack with a camera.

"Better than in the common room…" he said, leaning forward to take advantage of her nicely exposed neck. She gasped as his lips met her skin, making him smile slightly.

"Draco!"

"Do you really want me to stop?" he asked, lips brushing her neck as he spoke, one hand tenderly reaching up into her hair.

"N… that's not fair!" she said, giggling.

"Since when have I ever been fair?" he asked, nipping delicately at her skin before pulling back to look at her. Her normally pale skin was a little flushed, but merriment outweighed the irritation in her eyes. Taking that as a good sign, he leaned in to kiss her, his fingertips just lightly holding her head in position

Even now, she was just the little bit shy and unsure of herself. Not that Draco would ever grade her on performance or anything; it was just the way she was. So, he always took his time, being very slow and gentle until he was sure she was relaxed. He leaned back a little, pulling her with him until his back rested against the wall. Although a part of him was dreadfully impatient, he kept to light, sweet kisses, his hands staying chastely where they were.

His patience paid off quickly, and as he felt Ashley relax against him, he let his hand start to wander just a little. Gently, he nipped at her lower lip, and when she opened her mouth slightly, his tongue darted in to caress hers. She'd been eating lemon drops again, a candy she'd gotten addicted to at some point during the summer, and the taste of which was starting to rub off on him.

The hand which had been tangled in her hair drifted downward, coming to rest on her shoulder, lightly running over her soft, warm skin. He pulled away from the kiss, reaching down instead to her neck, his lips and tongue warm on the skin. She gasped, her head tilting back to give him more room. Working his way downward, Draco pulled her shirt to one side, moving onto her shoulder and biting playfully at her bra strap.

Draco's other hand slid up her shirt, tracing her spine. She shivered, trying to curve away from his tickling fingers. He knew his hands were warm, and he kept his skin in good condition so he wouldn't be distracting her with scaly skin or hangnails. Such an easy thing to do, and he knew it was much nicer for Ashley.

He was getting very good at making her happy, discovering odd sensitive spots, learning what made her feel good, and what not to do. He had to be careful of that, because Ashley had a terrifying ability to do him serious damage if she didn't like something. She didn't seem the least bit likely to curse him right now, so he kissed her again, feeling a sudden rush of heat at her eager response…

Ryua woke up with a start, looking around the darkened room. She'd gone to bed fairly early, which meant that Pansy was still out on patrol. Millicent hadn't shown up for school, meaning she was alone in the dorm at this moment. Which was a good thing, as she could feel her skin was flushed and tingling, her breathing quick and her heart pounding. "What the bloody hell…" she said to herself. "Somebody slip me a love potion?" Tossing off her covers, she sat down on the floor, the cold stone quickly shocking her body down.

Her mind cleared out again, and she remembered details from her dream. _Ashley? What?_ She expected the occasional dirty dream about Harry, but Ashley? Her brother's girlfriend?

She sat up suddenly, mind snapping into focus. "That little bastard…" He must be off being naughty somewhere… First thing in the morning, she was going to ask everyone necessary to find a way to block some of their more powerful experiences out… Shivering, as she was now thoroughly chilled, she threw on a robe and went to go do homework in the common room, as she wasn't the least bit likely to sleep well until Draco got back and behaved nicely.

They came back eventually, both looking very flushed and giggly. Ashley didn't even notice Ryua, just kissed her brother and went off to bed. Draco looked at her sheepishly, trying to keep from grinning. "Sorry… didn't mean to keep you up…"

"We have to do something about that." She said flatly, glaring at him. "I had the most disturbingly vivid dream…"

"Sorry…"

"Let's just find some way to block each other out, huh?"

He nodded vigorously, before quickly going into the boys' dorm to escape her glare. Sighing, Ryua put down her transfiguration essay, and went off to bed herself. _It could be worse…_ she thought, _He could be doing that with Pansy…_

The next day, at lunch, she dragged Draco off to talk to Severus. Ashley's late father was his twin, so theoretically he'd be able to help. "Hey, professor," Ryua said, smiling sweetly. "We need your help with something."

He looked up, not liking the tone of her voice. "What is it?"

Draco couldn't quite look him in the eye, considering it had been his actions with Severus' niece last night that had prompted this in the first place. Ryua was nice enough not to bring that up, though, and just said, "We were wondering if it's possible to block out your twin's thoughts and sensations… I hated having to go through him getting tortured this summer, and I know he doesn't like it any more than me…" Draco nodded, thankful for the secondary reason.

"You're more likely to feel each other when you're closest," Severus said, thinking. It had been many, many years since he'd had a twin to worry about. "If you're getting along, your bond is stronger."

"I don't want to hate him again though," Ryua said. "He's the last of my family."

"I realize that…" Severus said, running his fingers through his hair. "My brother and I never got along much… But I know of occlumency lessons that have been specially developed over the years to close your mind to bonds like this. You should realize that until one or both of you are dead, the bond will still exist."

"As long as I don't get details anymore, good enough," Ryua said, thanking him and dragging Draco off to the library to find some of them.

Madam Pomfery had apparently dealt with twins in the past, and handed them a textbook before they'd even finished explaining what they want. "Magical twins have an even stronger bond than Muggle ones… The Patil twins just returned this one… and Weasleys had it two years back…" And then, she went off on an explanation of why they'd wanted the book, which was too damn detailed for Ryua, and they both left hastily.

"So, at least this isn't a really weird thing, or anything," Draco said, reading over Ryua's shoulder. "Everyone goes through it."

"Everyone with a twin bond, anyhow…" Ryua said absently, reading the procedure. Unlike many how-to manuals in the library, this one was fairly recent, meaning it was written in current English. "Looks like we'll have to meditate every night before bed for a week, to get this down to a sensible level. So, no naughty little nights on Prefect patrol for you two for a few days, okay?"

"At least you like Ashley." Draco said darkly.

"Just because I like her doesn't mean I want to know the color of her bra and the way the skin at the nape of her neck tastes."

Draco looked slightly apologeticly at her. "Point taken… So just how much did you…"

"I woke myself up before any major articles of clothing were removed," Ryua said, trying not to think too hard about it. Her brother's girlfriend… that was just wrong in so many ways.

Harry, with much help from his cloak and map, managed to ambush Ryua on her way back to the common room just before curfew. "You HAVE to stop doing that," she grumbled, tucking her wand back in her robes. "I really will kill you by accident at this rate."

"You just need to relax a little, that's all," he said, his arms slipping around her waist. "You're too tense."

"Oh no. No. Stop that!" she hissed, slapping his hand when it started to drift up under her shirt.

"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning in to nibble her ear. He very abruptly stopped when he felt her wand at the hollow of his throat. "What is with you today?"

"You realize that the same bond that lets me feel Draco's pain also transmits other things?"

"Like this?" he asked, looking curiously at her. "He can just ignore it then…" his hand slid down her wand, running lightly over her fingers and up to her shoulder.

Shaking her head furiously to try and quell the lovely tingles he was making, she pushed her wand just a little harder against his neck. "Would you be able to ignore it if Lord Voldemort decided to have a little love fest with Bella? Or Lucius?"

That appeared to stop any romantic feelings he had in their tracks. "It's that strong?" he said aghast, his hand dropping from her skin. "That's awful."

"We're working on Occlumency, you'll just have to be patient, that's all…" She said, glancing at his map and kissing him on the cheek before sliding out from under the invisibility cloak to go to bed.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if that was really weird. The beginning's for HPF139, thanks for making a request… and much thanks to Dragonandthewolf, I love getting new reviewers, thank you so much for reading.


	20. Classes

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Classes

Ryua's first Care of Magical Creatures class rolled around on a nice, warmish, dry morning, a wonderful beginning to an outdoor class. When she got to the class, however, she was shocked to see the only other participant was Neville. "Are we really it?" she asked incredulously.

"I think so…" he said, his eyebrows pulling together as he thought. "The others all wanted a free class, but kept taking Potions and Transfiguration. So this was the only one they could drop."

Ryua nodded. "I dumped Charms, myself…"

"Really?" Neville asked, eyes wide. "That's one of the only classes I can do well…"

She laughed. "If it's not painful, protective, or humiliating, I can't cast it, I'm afraid. So you're well up on me there."

"That's something I never expected anyone to say to me about anything." He said, looking surprised and maybe a little proud.

"You aren't nearly as bad at things as you think, you know," Ryua said, poking his shoulder. Hagrid came ambling cheerfully over to them at that point, looking pleased that anyone had shown up for his class at all.

"Well, glad to see the two of yeh! Now, c'mon, I've got summat you'll like today. Since I've only got the two of yeh, I'll be able to order in all sorts of fun little critters…" Neville gulped nervously at that remark, but gamely followed him into the woods anyways.

There, on a bench, was Dumbledore, waving cheerfully at them. "Hagrid thought that Phoenixes would be a good way to start the year off," he said, gesturing to Fawkes perched behind him. Neville almost collapsed with relief at that, and although she'd never show it, Ryua was a little relieved too. The last thing she needed was to deal with a chimera or something this early on…

Fawks took immediately to Neville. Dumbledore said this was a sign of great moral character, which made the boy blush as the bird gently nibbled his fingertips. However, although he acknowledged Ryua, Fawks obviously didn't like her as much, preferring to groom Neville's soft, messy hair. "Why is that, Professor?" Neville asked, looking up at Hagrid sort of sideways so as not to interfere with the phoenix.

"Well… Yer a likeable sort of a fellow, Neville," Hagrid said. "An' Ryua… well…"

"You don't have to dance around it," she laughed. "I'm just not nearly so appealing as Neville. He's sweet, innocent, and an actually good person. I'm harsh, corrupted, and occasionally a little cruel."

"Well, I wouldn' go that far…" Hagrid said, looking taken aback.

"Ryua has a gift for being very clear-sighted, and just as blunt," Dumbledore said, smiling. "It takes a strong person to admit that sort of thing about themselves… although she did leave out the parts that we all like about her."

"Oh, leave off…" Ryua giggled, waving a hand at him. "You've only seen the best of me, sir. I behave so much better at school than anywhere else."

"Well, you can't be all that terrible," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "As Fawks refuses to even look at many people. Such as Cornelious Fudge, Delores Umbridge, and your father, to name a few."

"Wow." Ryua said. "Most of the time, I'm very much my father's daughter, not that he'd ever admit it. I'm flattered Fawks doesn't see me that way." Fawks blinked slowly at her, bowing his head slightly before combing a particularily irritating piece of Neville's hair.

"That's one of the bes' points of a phoenix," Hagrid said, suddenly remembering he was supposed to be teaching them. "They're always good judges of character, good or bad."

"Or dangerous," Dumbledore interjected. "From the first moment he saw Tom Riddle, Fawks never took his eyes off of him."

"Handy to have around in a fight, too," Ryua said, remembering something. "Harry's got all these scars from things that should have killed him, but Fawks fixed them."

"And since they are immediately reborn in death, it's the only easy way to dodge a killing curse." Dumbledore put in. "Assuming you're the kind of person worthy of a phoenix's compassion. And they are the only ones who can decide what makes a person worthy or not."

"An' they're the only way to teleport inside Hogwarts grounds," Hagrid said. "I don't think anyone's made up a spell to keep out phoenixes yet. It's a good thing only the best kind of witch or wizard can make use of that, eh?"

"No kidding," Neville said, gently stroking Fawks, who'd finished with his hair. It actually looked much better now, not quite so bed-headed.

Surprisingly, Hagrid had actually managed to amass a decent amount of information on phoenixes, and they had the most informative class he'd ever taught them. At the end of the class, Dumbledore treated them both to a phoenix-teleport up to the front gates. This was much nicer than traveling by portkey or floo powder, and although she'd never done it, Ryua suspected it was better than apparating too. It was simply a wash of pleasant heat, and then you were somewhere else, no sickening turns, no disorientation, no dizziness. "That is the way to travel," Ryua said. "You should definitely see about finding yourself a phoenix, Neville."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Fawks likes you, so probably others will too. I would if I could, believe me." Between the lovely ability to teleport instantly anywhere, and the healing tears, a phoenix would be a lovely companion to have.

"I dunno. I don't think it'd be a good idea to go looking for one, know what I mean? They'd never let me get close if I acted like I wanted one."

Ryua looked at him, mildly surprised. "I wouldn't have thought of that. You're probably right, though."

"Maybe." Neville said, still not very used to having so many good opinions in one day. Suddenly, a mischevious grin crossed his face, and he asked, "So, where are those scars of Harry's you were talking about? I've never seen them…"

Ryua stopped dead, looking at him with a mix of shock, embarrassment, and amusement. "That, Longbottom, would be prying. I thought you had outstanding moral fibre?"

"Just curious…"

"He's a busy boy. He gets beat up a lot."

"Oh, not going to tell?"

"They're not anywhere especially bad…"

"You're blushing."

"I most certainly am not. You're just imagining things." Ryua said primly, striding away before she broke down into giggles.

She was still avoiding Harry as much as possible, as she and Draco still had four more days of meditation to go. He naturally took it into his head to try and follow her everywhere, trying to catch her unawares long enough to kiss her before running from a mostly playful curse. It would be much easier to avoid him, Ryua thought, if she didn't _enjoy_ being caught so much.

Her errant mind wandered back to the topic of Harry's various scars. She'd asked about the most obvious ones, the Baslisk bite, the stab from the Horntail… but he had all sorts of minor lines from skirmishes over the years. Rather more than the average sixteen-year-old, although not as much as she. She'd have to make a point of asking him about them next time she had the opportunity to remove an article of clothing or two.

She realized during Potions that she really shouldn't have thought about that. It made it rather difficult to pay attention, with Harry sitting right THERE. Luckily, Draco was paying attention, and so kept their potion from burning. "Could you be maybe, just a little bit helpful?" he growled, handing her a board full of roots to chop.

"Right, right, sorry…"

Severus reminded them that their first Hogsmeade weekend was coming up next week, hinting that he'd be handing out detentions to those who didn't complete their potions properly before then. "You realize that Severus'd eagerly take the excuse to kick out Potter, if he thinks he's distracting you?" Draco said cheerfully on their way to lunch. "What a shame that would be…"

"Oh, screw off."

"I'd love to, except that you'd just complain about too many vivid images."

Ryua glared at him, smacking his shoulder playfully. "You're such a boy, you know that?"

"I know." He said proudly, sitting down between Crabbe and Goyle, leaving Ryua to go talk to Ashely.

"So, how's life?" Ryua asked her, sliding a first year left slightly to make herself room.

"Been worse… although Parkinson's out to get me, I think." Ashley said, sending a dark glower to theaforementioned girl.

"Ah. Jealousy, I assume?"

"Yep!" Ashley said, happily. "She seems to think that Draco ought to be snogging her between seeing me, and he miraculously thinks otherwise."

"I should hope so. Otherwise, I'd have to hurt him severely."

Ashley laughed. "That's assuming that I don't first. Hey, what's going on with the Quidditch team this year?"

"Well… we still have a full team, so I don't have to sit through more applications, thank Salazar. I'll put in a request for pitch time this evening, and see what the schedule'll be like. It depends what everyone's doing outside of quidditch…" Ryua said, thinking. No one had told her about a new time for DA meetings. Now that groups were legal again, they didn't have to take place in secret anymore. She made a note to ask the Gryffindors about it after supper.

Excusing herself from Ashley, who just rolled her eyes when she saw where Ryua was headed, Ryua peeled away from the Slytherin house as they all started to file out. She fell into step behind Ron, waiting to see how long it would be before any of them noticed her. Naturally, it took Seamus yelling "Oy, Ron! You've got a Slytherin stalking you!" before he turned back, jumping slightly.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully.

"Bloody hell," Ron said, "Couldn't you say something next time?"

"But that's no fun…" Ryua laughed.

"So, were you here for something, or just wanted to scare Ron?" Hermione asked, poking him lightly.

"Acutally, I wanted to see if we were doing the DA meetings. I have to set up the Quidditch schedule, you see." Ryua replied.

"I hadn't thought much about it, to tell you the truth," Harry said. "With a decent teacher for a change, it's not like we're in danger of death or failure if we don't do it…"

"Aww…" Ryua said, pouting. "But it's so much fun!"

"Alright, alright…" he laughed, shaking his head. "I'll try to set up a few meetings."

"I'm supposed to be instructing you too," Ryua said, suddenly remembering. "It worries me that you still don't use any really powerful curses."

"Oooh, a private study session," Ron jibed, ducking behind Hermione to be out of a direct line of fire. "I'll bet he's just aching to do that…" What he didn't realize was that ducking behind Hermione put him within smacking reach of Harry, and was soon ruefully rubbing his shoulder.

"It's easier to find a night just the two of us have free," Harry said, thinking, "than trying to coordinate all four houses. "You have anything planned this Tuesday night?"

"Nope, the Quidditch pitch won't be ready for at least a week. I'll see you at the Room of Requirements after supper," she said, winking, turning away to go back to her common room before someone started looking for her.

Ron looked after her, shivering, and his eyes slightly glazed. "If you can getunder the psychoticness… you're one lucky man, mate," he said, shaking his head.

Hermione smacked him this time, and wouldn't tell him why. "If you can't figure it out, I'm not going to tell you!" she snapped, before going off to the common room in a huff.

When Ron looked blankly at Harry, he shook his head tiredly. "She's right. You really ought to have figured out why she doesn't like you looking at other girls. Not to mention that you were just checking out _my_ girlfriend…"

"I wasn't checking her out… just noting the facts…" Ron said, bewildered. He honestly couldn't see what he was doing wrong.

Author's note: I just had to tease Ron. I like him, but he's so incredibly dense... For those of you who don't have an account here, please leave me an e-mail address with your review so I can get in contact. They're finally officially saying that revewer responses aren't allowed.


	21. Abraxans and Dementors

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Abraxans and Dementors

That morning, on her way to transfiguration, Ryua was wordlessly given a page of the Daily Prophet by Hermione, who was naturally in a rush to get to some class or other. She unfolded it, reading as she went. It was an update of Lucius' new reign of power. He'd already made himself wildly popular, increasing funding to wizarding health care and security measures, and was actively recruiting Aurors.

He'd done rather a lot of touring the country, meeting with local authorities, families, and the such, acting the friendly uncle of the Wizarding world. There was a brief mention of how the recent tragic loss of his wife was still affecting him (_Bullshit… _Ryua grumbled). Because of this, it appeared that he was going to be passing a new amendment to the civil law. He was so much in favor if encouraging families to get along that he was ordering all students to return home for the school breaks.

Ryua reread it again, wondering what on earth he was playing at. "Draco, read this. Does this make any sense to you?" she asked, handing him the paper. "I personally think he's lost it."

Scanning through the article, Draco said, "Maybe he just wants to piss you off. You haven't come home willingly in years now. Not to mention that it gets people out of Hogwarts, where they're vulnerable."

"He wouldn't be dumb enough to have a Death Eater attack because of one of his new laws," Ryua said. "He'd lose the public's confidence. I think."

"Oh, who knows," Draco scoffed. "I can't understand how the man thinks."

"You're planning to wiggle out of this 'home for the holidays' thing, aren't you?"

"You'd better believe it. You should too."

"I'll try my best," Ryua said as she sat down heavily at her desk, confused as to what Lucius was after.

At lunch, Ryua wandered over to where Harry and the others were talking. "I'm flatly not going home," Harry said. "The Dursleys barely take me for the Summer Break, and I've never exactly been the Ministry's poster boy anyway."

"You could come home with me, mate," Ron said, "Mum's always glad to have you."

"I'm still trying to figure out a way to get out if it," Ryua said, shifting Colin Creevy down a space to sit down. "My home life is just as bad as Harry's."

"Good luck," Ron said. "You're dad's the minister. If you don't, there'll be all sorts of publicity, and people will start to wonder about him…"

"Sounds just fine to me," Ryua said. "Anything to get him out of power."

"No, Ron's got a point there," Hermione said. "He'll make sure you come home, just to avoid that."

"Well, thanks for your vote of confidence," Ryua said dryly.

"It's months away right now," Hermione said, "And only for two weeks anyway. What can he do in two weeks?"

_A whole lot, _Ryua thought darkly. However, she said, "You're right. It'll be no problem." _And if it is, I'll just kill him, publicity or no._

That night, Ryua started in on her second-last daily meditation. After this, she and Draco would have to do it every couple weeks, more often if there was something particularly vibrant going on. It was fairly basic, as most occlumency practices went, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was easy. It mostly consisted of trying to clear her mind of all thoughts and emotions, until she could sense Draco as if she were him. The first night, this had been incredibly backwards-seeming, and neither of them had slept properly for being stuck in the other's mind.

However, once they were able to get a clear bond, it became incredibly easy to block it. Or not quite block it, but more like turn down the volume on a muggle TV set. Ryua was getting quite practiced at it now, as long as she didn't have any particularly distracting thoughts to get through. Tonight, this was harder than the last two nights, as Lucius kept popping up into her mind. _What does he want? What's he playing at?_ Once her subconscious was thoroughly sure that her conscious mind had no idea, it finally let go enough to finish the exercise. She easily linked through to Draco's mind, noting amusedly that he was reading a _Mad Muggle_ comic, and carefully tuned him out, until there was just a dim awareness that he was alive and peaceful, and she slipped out of the trance.

Pansy was watching her nastily, probably trying to figure out how she could convince Snape that meditation was against the rules so she could get Ryua in trouble. Ryua, for her part, just smiled sweetly and crawled into bed.

Wednesday dawned, with just a hint of frost in the air for the first time, signifying that winter was approaching. She and Neville met outside to walk to their Care of Magical Creatures class, where it turned out that Hagrid had borrowed one of Madame Maxime's Abraxan flying horses. Apparently, the unit was going to be flying creatures, but Hagrid nicely didn't try and make Neville ride the giant horse. Naturally, Ryua tried to climb on top of it all on her own, and couldn't even reach to the top of its back. Hagrid deposited her right on top, where she had to settle for kneeling across the shoulders and clinging to the mane.

She almost fell right off the Abraxan, since it was so large that it could have carried Hagrid a fair ways. A back that broad is hard to balance on, and the wind kicked up by its' wings was immense. She hadn't gotten to ride the Hippogriffs in the third year, nor the Thestrals last year, and was therefore completely giddy to finally have a chance at a ride. Upon landing, she did slip off sideways, but rolled on impact, her quidditch training coming into play. She ended up sitting on the ground, covered in dust and grinning. "Can I have one?" she asked eagerly, pulling bits of stick out of her hair.

This prompted Hagrid to tell them about flying horse ownership and breeding laws, and the right amount of pasture, and the spells to keep them from flying away, and the different foods they all ate. Since Care of Magical Creatures wasn't a core class, their next lesson wasn't until the middle of next week, so they had plenty of time to work on their Winged Horse feeding charts. "I think I'll really enjoy this class," Neville said happily. "The homework Hagrid gives is a piece of cake."

"Much better than Transfiguration, or Potions, or DADA," Ryua agreed. "I have an essay for each, not to mention that I'm supposed to set up a quidditch schedule. At least I'm not a prefect…"

"I'm with you on that," Neville said, "Not to mention the fact that no one would listen to me anyway."

"Maybe I ought to teach you how to use something nasty and illegal. That usually works just fine."

He looked nervously at her. It was often hard for him to tell if Ryua was joking or not.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to get you in trouble," Ryua laughed. "But the DA meetings are being set up again. Maybe not as regularly as last year because we actually have a decent teacher now, but…"

Neville brightened up considerably at that. "That's great! I really miss that class. I mean, Professor Card's a good teacher and all, but I'm just not doing quite as well…"

"Well, we do have a double DADA block now, if I remember correctly," Ryua said. "So you'll have plenty of time to practice."

"Dementors," Card said, once everyone sat down. A general air of disgruntlement pervaded the class, and he smiled humorlessly. "Not many people like them, granted, and for good reason. However, they are very much a part of our lives at this point in time. I'm sure you've all noticed the abnormal amount of mist by now?"

The class nodded. You could already pick out the ones who knew what it was, from the slightly less than cheerful expressions on their face. "For those of you who haven't been told of its nature, the mist is created when dementors breed." He grinned, taking a little evil pleasure in disgusting his class. "Dementors are asexual organisms, meaning they don't have female and male genders, not in the way we'd understand, at any rate. Those dementors that have reached full growth dissolve into the mist we see around. When it mixes with another batch of mist, or even is left alone long enough, it will form a new batch of dementors, anywhere from a pair to two dozen, depending on the amount of emotion running around the area."

"Eurgh!" said Seamus, putting everyone's basic thoughts into words. "So everytime we've been out in this gunk all summer long…"

"Dissolved dementor." Card confirmed. "Too much of it actually can alter a person's brain chemistry, making them utterly depressed and lethargic. Not to mention, more open to suggestion. If one's mind doesn't care about anything, than it is incredibly easy to induce cooperation."

"Can you bottle the stuff?" Ryua asked, mind already on the practical rather than disgusting side of matters.

"Not for very long," Card said. "If you have enough of it to do any good, it'll just turn into a dementor or three before long. If you're after a way to harness a dementor's powers, however, the material from their cloaks makes a particularly nasty wand core." He held up his own, a black and golden wand made of zebrawood. "You won't find many makers who carry it, of course, as it's difficult to obtain, and really only good for a certain kind of spell."

"Certain kind?" Draco asked, actually paying attention for a change.

"Some charms, many kinds of transfiguration, a fair handle on the curses… anything altering, shifty, painful, spells that affect the mind rather than the body. It cannot, obviously, handle a Patronus charm. Out of curiosity, have any of you mastered that particular spell?" Nearly every Gryffindor in the room raised their hand, earning a raised eyebrow. "Now, where would you all have learned that? I had a surprising number in my last class too, and they said to ask you lot."

Harry bit his tongue slightly, raising his hand. "That… that was me. Our last teacher was so awful that I decided I'd better teach the course."

Card blinked at him. It really did sound a bit uppity when you put it that way, Ryua supposed. "I see. And the fact that all student groups were banned…"

"Better expelled than dead."

The teacher accepted that statement with a nod of his head. "Well, any students wishing to practice are welcome to do so. It would reflect badly on my resume to have my students die because of a faulty casting."

The entire class still had trouble with Card's sense of humor. It was so hard to tell if he was joking, or being dead serious. The accepted response to one of these statements was a vague silence. He never seemed a bit fazed about it, though, and just went back to teaching them about Dementors.

Author's Note: Sorry, that chapter wouldn't write properly. I'd like to please ask my reviewers to give me ideas, because I'm running out of stuff to write about in day to day life. Oh, and please make sure you sign in, or give me an e-mail address if you expect a response, thanks...


	22. Private Lessons

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Private Lessons

Thursday arrived, and Ryua woke up rather cheerfully. She and Draco had finally finished their week of chastity and meditation last night, meaning that she could let Harry catch her next time he appeared out of nowhere. And she didn't have to worry about having any more dreams about parts of Ashley she hadn't ever wanted to see. Life was good.

Well, mostly. She accidentally started a rather impressive fire in Transfiguration when her quill turned into a salamander instead of a newt. This prompted McGonnagall to give a lecture on the importance of biological distinction, after she dampened the flames and reshuffled the class so everyone had a desk again. Justin Finch-Fletchley was the only human casualty, having lost both eyebrows and about half his hair.

"You realize this is going to become one of those stories that McGonnagall tells students, so they don't mess up?" Draco said gleefully when they were finally released.

"Shut up." Ryua said grumpily.

"You'll be going down in history. 'Remember Ryua Malfoy, who mixed up her species and burned down half the classroom…'" He broke off rather suddenly when Ryua started burning off half his robes. A few seconds of franticly beating out flames later, he caught back up to her. "That was cruel."

"You deserved it." She didn't dispute the cruelness quotient though.

"I did not."

She raised her wand again, smiling sweetly. "Want to dispute that point?"

Draco wisely shut up this time, and dropped by the Slytherin dorms for a change of clothing on the way to Potions. Ryua grinned. This gave her an excuse to sit beside Harry again. Hermione either saw her coming or just decided that Padma Patil needed help that day and sat with the Ravenclaw.

Harry smiled at her as she sat down. "You seem pleased with yourself," he said.

"I scorched Draco. He deserved it."

"Oh?" he asked, his grin widening. Harry always enjoyed hearing about Draco being humiliated.

"He was bothering me about a minor thing that happened in Transfiguration." Ryua said lightly, doing her best not to attract attention to the incident.

It was not to be, of course. Dean leaned over, poking her. "Are you the one who burned down McGonnagall's office then?"

Ryua's mouth fell open. "Where the hell do you get your information?"

"I have my sources."

She glared at him. "I most certainly didn't burn down her office. Just a few desks. And Finch-Fletchley's hair. And a few practice quills."

"Is that all?" Harry asked, highly amused.

"Well… it was the entire box of quills, eight newts, and an old textbook. And maybe the blackboard was a little roasted too." Ryua said uncomfortably. "I conjured a _very _good salamander."

Both boys broke out laughing at that point, prompting Snape to take 20 points from Gryffindor before starting a lecture on the amplifying properties of powedered jade.

He also stressed the importance of not using magic to pulverize the stone, as it did odd things to the resultant brew. Ryua pushed the little green pebble over to Harry, muttering, "I've had enough odd results for one day. You do it."

"Nice," he said, pulling out his mortar and pestle. "That's a fair trade there…"

"Of course it is," Ryua said, already measuring out other ingredients. "I'll make the rest of the potion. You just have to grind up one tiny rock."

Apparently, he hadn't realized that the grinding would take up most of the class, giving him a valid excuse not to do more work. This meant that he cheerfully stopped complaining and went back to powdering. By the time Ryua was done adding the last of the shrivelfig, Harry had powdered enough jade to add to the mix. The result was such a potent version of a simple sleeping draft that Ryua almost fell into the cauldron from the fumes alone.

Harry pulled her back from over the cauldron and she shook herself awake just in time for Snape to come up and investigate. "I see you've produced the proper potion, and lo and behold, your partner actually managed to produce the proper amount of jade. Twenty points to Slytherin for the proper effect. And," he said, smiling nastily at Harry. He might have to teach him, but that didn't mean he liked him. "Five points from Gryffindor for allowing your partner to inhale the fumes."

"That was exceptionally nasty," Ryua said, sticking her tongue out at him as he walked away.

Harry was just shaking his head, amused. "It doesn't matter what I do in this class, he'll find some way to punish me for it."

"As I said: nasty." She replied, ladling their potion into a vial and cleaning up the rest before she got drowsy again.

"At least he's teaching me." Harry said. "I need the Potions NEWT to become an Auror, remember."

"I asked him to. Promised I'd keep you in line…" Ryua said, grinning.

"Plus he gets to make my life miserable for the next two years," he added. "I think he'd actually be bored if I dropped his class."

Ryua rolled her eyes as she went to drop off their enhanced potion. Coming back, she asked, "Speaking of classes, you haven't forgotten tonight, right?"

"Of course not," Harry said. "You'd hunt me down if I did anyway."

"Damn straight."

Snape announced to the class that over the next two weeks, they'd stay paired up, picking the most challenging potion each group knew. After it was brewed, they'd add the jade, and test it. If they'd made properly, it'd become a very potent mixture. If not, it would likely blow up. The students, not Severus, were adding the jade, he noted.

"So, know any particularily complicated potions?" Ryua asked, not really expecting Harry to have any input.

"Polyjuice," he said, grimacing slightly. "It'd actually be kind of fun, Snape's been trying to catch me in the act of making it since the second year."

"You know how to make a Polyjuice potion?"

"More or less. I know which book it's in too." He grinned. "You remember in the second year how Crabbe and Goyle acted so oddly that one day… That was us."

"In your second year, you not only knew what a Polyjuice potion was, but managed to find the recipe, get the ingredients, brew it, and then trusted it enough to drink it?" Ryua asked, slightly shocked.

"Well, to be completely honest, Hermione did most of it…"

"That's why Goyle's potion blew up that day!"

"Yep. Snape knows, of course, but he can't prove anything. And Crouch turning out to be stealing his stuff two years ago helped clear me."

"Hmm…" Ryua said thinking, "I suppose that book's in the restricted section?"

"Yeah. There's no way I can get a note signed… but you could. It's nice having a teacher's pet or two in the group."

She hit him lightly before going up to ask Snape for a library pass as the rest of the class went off to lunch. Not wanting to antagonize him this early, she carefully didn't mention which potion she was after, just that she had one in mind that she doubted would be in the regulation textbooks. Naturally, he gave her permission, and she said thank you and went off to go eat.

"Now which one did you say it was?" Ryua asked as she and Harry wandered up the library aisles after lunch.

He frowned slightly, studying the spines. "This one." He pulled it out, leafing through the pages. "Here. You're sure about this?"

"More sure than you three were in the second year," Ryua said, scanning the list of ingredients. "Getting these things from Snape without him guessing isn't going to be easy… Although I do have a little bicorn horn myself. And you can get lacewing flies at any decent pet store."

"Really?" Harry asked. "We had to steal those from Snape's stash. I didn't think they could be found anywhere legal."

"Snakes and Kneazles love them. Standard treat inventory. I used to have some… I'll check with Dobby. He used to keep little bits of things for Parsyl." Inwardly, she twitched, remembering her much-loved snake, and the look in Lucius' eyes as he crushed her…

"You awake?" Harry asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped. "You just seemed a bit distant there for a minute."

"I'm fine." Ryua said, snapping the book shut and taking it to Madam Pomfery. Once they were out of the Library, she asked lightly, "So, who do you want to become this time around? I assume it isn't Crabbe or Goyle."

"To tell you the truth, I'm a little worried as to what an amplified version will do," he said nervously. "It was rather uncomfortable last time, and incredibly disgusting. And we turned for a full hour. You don't think it'd be a permanent change, do you?"

"I doubt it. If it was, there'd be a warning in the book. With a dark manual like this, you can always count on one thing," Ryua said, grinning. "If there's the slightest possibility of something painful, humiliating, inconvenient, or lethal happening, it's mentioned in meticulous detail."

"Huh. Useful to know… So, any details on what you're planning to teach me tonight?"

"That would ruin the surprise." Actually, she wasn't sure yet. It depended mostly on what he knew, and if they could find any practice targets. Personally, she thought Pansy would be a prime choice, but it'd probably get them both expelled.

They separated once they got to the Great Hall to eat lunch, Ryua keeping the book. She'd get less odd looks for lugging it around than Harry, at least. She wedged Goyle down a little, sliding in next to Draco. "Ah, good. I love chicken soup…"

"You ought to be a little more careful about how you spend time with that… boy." Draco said, sounding slightly disgusted. "People are starting to wonder."

"And I suppose the way you and Ashely are always glomping each other isn't a problem?" Ryua said, gesturing at her friend, who was leaning on Draco's shoulder.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're engaged, both Slytherins, and our allegience is undeniably advertised on our left forearms. We aren't about to get killed for having an inappropriate love life." Ashley said bluntly.

"Well…" Ryua said, trying to come up with something to counter that. "The hat said to encourage inter-house cooperation. So there."

"Cooperation. Not marriage."

"I never said I was going to marry him, Draco." Ryua snapped. "The last engagement I had ended rather badly, if you can recall."

Neither one talked to the other for the rest of the meal. Ryua supposed this was a good thing, as she didn't want to contemplate her brother's response to the way she planned to spend her evening.

She had a spare class to finish her Transfiguration essay after lunch, and Arithmancy after that. Hermione didn't mention her and Harry's lessons either, and Ryua suspected he'd kept it fairly quiet. Good. She trusted Hermione, but there were people everywhere who could make life difficult, if not very painful.

Arithmancy homework was a graph so large that Ryua contemplated skipping dinner to work on it. And then decided that missing food would cause more harm than help, and just started writing it out in class. Hermione was thinking along the same lines, luckily, and didn't seem to feel like gossiping. The hour of free time before supper was also donated to the graph… and she still had over half of the values to fill in by the time Cassie dragged her off to eat.

"What're you so worried about anyway?" Cassie said, looking quizzicly at Ryua. "Quidditch isn't tonight, you have loads of time."

"Actually, I have something planned."

"Really? Who?"

Ryua smacked herself mentally. "Nothing. Nobody. Never mind."

Which was of course the wrong thing to say. "Well, now I know it's something juicy. C'mon…"

"No."

"I'll keep pestering you until you tell me. I can be _really_ annoying when I want to…"

Ryua groaned. Cassie had started vibrating again. She wasn't entirely sure whether it was a conscious thing designed to irritate people, or just a nervous tic of sorts, but it was incredibly distracting. "Okay, okay okayokaySTOP!" she said reaching out to grab Cassie's shoulders.

Cassie hiccupped, giggled, and said, "Okay, I stopped."

"I'm doing an extra Dark Arts course. Started it last year, really."

"That's why you did so good on your OWL then?"

"Uh huh."

"So what's so secretive about that?"

Ryua glanced around to see who was nearby. Seeing only Chang and a group of her giggling girls, she said, "Potter put it together. His friends started inviting people and the people invitied people, and there were about twenty odd of us by the time we started."

"Can anyone join?" Cassie asked.

Ryua blinked. They hadn't ever discussed letting people in, let alone Slytherins, however… "If there were any Slytherin they'd ever let in, it'd be you, Cassie. I'll ask Harry."

"So, you and the Boy Who Lived are on first-name basis now?" Cassie said, naturally picking out the worst possible part of Ryua's statement.

Ryua growled. Cassie laughed. Ryua glared at her and said, "You assume too much."

Cassie suddenly stopped giggling and stared at her open-mouthed. "Oh. Oh, no. I actually guessed right there, didn't I?"

"No." Ryua grumbled.

"He's that mystery guy that you've been sneaking off to see."

"I have not been sneaking off." This was true. For a whole week, she hadn't done a thing except for meditate.

"You're evading me. Hey…" An odd expression crossed Cassie's face. "Maybe I'm wrong. Is it Hermione?"

It was Ryua's turn to stop walking that time. "Do I just come across as a dyke? That was Draco's first thought too."

"Ryua…" Cassie said, a decidedly evil look coming over her face. "If you don't confess, I'll start owling howlers to you every morning… proclaiming your love for a different person every day. And I won't stop until I get an answer."

"I think you're bluffing."

"Oh, puh-leeze!" Cassie said, rolling her eyes. "You're bluffing that you think I'm bluffing."

"Fine. The DA meetings are a cover-up for a mass orgy among the rebellious students of the school. Happy now?"

"Sounds fun!"

Ryua sighed. "I should have known… Alright. If you tell anyone, I'll come back from the grave and kill you. It's…"

"Potter. I know. I just thought I'd bother you a while." Cassie said cheerfully. "Seriously though, I think that thingy you all do sounds fun."

"The DA meetings?"

"Yeah. And a little extra practice never hurt anyone."

"I'll ask him. Shouldn't be a problem, I'll let you know when the first meeting is."

"It's not tonight? Then what are you doing?"

Another mental smack. Ryua decided that at this point, a very honest approach was best. "Advanced version. I'm teaching how to kill things."

"A decreased class size then?"

"Mmm hmm…"

"Very decreased?"

"Maybe…"

"One on one?"

"Shut up."

"Just how much _teaching _are you planning to do?" Cassie asked slyly, then ran and hid behind Ashley as Ryua went for her wand.

She spent the rest of supper trying to quash happy little tingles that the idea of spending an entire evening with Harry created. By the time she headed towards the Room of Requirements, she had managed to put herself into a teaching frame of mind. All that occlumency meditation came in handy, she supposed.

Ryua paced outside the door, concentrating on their old DA classroom, figuring it was a good basis for whatever she needed. She went in, noticing that it was a much smaller, with fewer bookshelves. And the books that were there looked rather like the Malfoy private library, full of all sorts of things that weren't taught in school.

She was flipping absently through a manual on infusing bodily fluids with various poisons when Harry came in. "Why is it that when I create the room, it's bright and cheerful, but yours is dark and full of nasty things?" he asked, looking around.

"Because I'm teaching you dark and nasty things," Ryua said, putting the book down. "So… you might as well have a seat." She was curled up on a pillow, one of the few things that had stayed the same from his class to hers.

Harry knelt down, coming to rest on a pillow facing her. "So where do we start?"

"I'd like to know what you can actually do. What's your repetoire?"

"Only you could use the word repetoire in a sentence…" he said, shaking his head. "You've seen most of it in the DA meetings and the Triwizard."

She grimaced. "I was hoping for something a little more serious than a jelly-legs jinx."

"Hey, you can trip up your opponent in a duel, it'll give you a few extra seconds."

"Oh, I know, believe me," Ryua said. "I've been tripped flat on my face before. The trick is what do you do afterwards?"

"Run like hell?"

She rolled her eyes. "What if you're surrounded? Or injured? What if Bellatrix Lestrange has her wand in Ron's throat? You aren't always going to be able to run, Harry."

"Then I'll just improvise. I'm not a slouch at dueling, you know."

"I know," she said, "And I don't think there are many people in this school who could win a fight with you. But you'd just get slaughtered by Death Eaters. Not because your skills are lacking, but because you simply have no really dangerous spells. Have you ever used a spell that truly injures someone?"

"No…"

"One that leaves a permanent mark?"

"Don't think so."

"Any of the Unforgiveables?"

"Once. On Bellatrix."

She raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that. "Did it work?"

"…Not really. She said something about righteous anger not really being enough."

Ryua nodded. "That's because she's right. A wholesome hatred, sorrow or rage over the death of a friend… they make some of the best starting points for those curses. However, you truly have to _want_ to cause pain, to make them wish they were dead, and to enjoy doing it. I think," she said, looking at him, "That's your problem. You might want to hurt someone like Bella, maybe even kill her, but you'd never really enjoy it."

"To tell you the truth…" Harry said, his eyes dark. "I don't want to enjoy it."

Ryua smiled crookedly, feeling a mixture of emotions at that statement. Pride, worry, and a very unsettling sense of disgust at herself. It was not pleasant to realize that you were not really a very nice person. "Then don't try. You can start liking it, but it's damn hard to go the other way."

An incredibly uncomfortable silence ensued. Eventually, Ryua started talking again. "Luckily for you, there are plenty of spells that work without the user going over to the Dark side."

"That's good," Harry said, happy to be onto a slightly different track again.

"For instance, I'm sure you know how to set things on fire by now?"

"Of course."

"You'll find it's very hard for your opponent to pay proper attention to you while he's burning. Not to mention that it's a basic element, therefore very powerful on it's own. You could call up magical fire that only burns certain things, but a plain old raging inferno will just work better in most cases."

He smiled slightly. "Now that I think of it, I've seen you set loads of things on fire."

"Well… I could be classed as a bit of a pyromaniac, I suppose." She grinned back. "Lightning's another good one."

"Shot from your fingertips?"

"It could be, I suppose. Wandless magic is something else I'm going to teach you."

He laughed. "I'll have to find a way to show you the Star Wars movies. You're a regular Sith Lord…"

"Star… oh. It's a muggle thing then?"

"Yeah. One of the most well-known creations in the muggle world, as a matter of fact."

"Huh. Sounds like fun… Which reminds me. Cassie Darkwind, from my Quidditch team, wants to join the DA meetings."

"Cassie… she's the bouncy one, right?"

Ryua grinned. "That's my girl."

"You realize how chancy it is letting Slytherins into the meetings?"

"She's more trustworthy than me… and still has an unmarked forearm to boot."

"Alright. You're in charge of keeping her quiet though."

"I know…" Ryua frowned. "Hey, quit distracting me. I'm supposed to be teaching you."

"Then teach away, Professor!"

She glared at him. "Fine. Scenario time. What do you do if… Rodolphus comes upon you in a dark corner of Hogsmeade?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange? Didn't you kill him?"

"You are not being helpful. Dolohov then. He's a very nasty little bugger, knows more about torture curses than just about anyone alive."

Harry bit his tongue thinking, then yelped when Ryua smacked him. "Harry, a Death Eater isn't going to give you time to think about it," she snapped.

"Ow… I know that… I've just never been good at oral exams."

Ryua sighed. She thought briefly to the room, lowering the lights until visibility was almost zero. "Fine then. Get up, and get ready, because I'm about to attack you." She was already moving, slipping silently behind a bookcase.

She heard Harry stifle a curse, scrambling to his feet. Counting in her head, she gave him five seconds, then shouted "Reducto!" and shot a rather solid ball of air to where she could hear him breathing.

Hastily, she softened the wall behind him, as he went flying backwards. Instead of a solid crack, she heard a muffled thump, and more grumbled curses. "Shut up, Harry! When it's dark, the last thing you want to do is tell your opponent right where you are."

He still wasn't nearly angry enough to really fight back, and only sent a stunning charm her way. Ryua threw herself sideways, hissing as it glanced off her right arm. Such a light hit didn't knock her out, but from her shoulder down went completely numb. She scrambled for her wand with her left hand, pulling it from nerveless fingers before it dropped to the dark ground. She held her breath, waiting.

Still far too trusting for his own good, Harry came closer. When he was almost on top of her, she lunged up, locking him in a full body bind. He fell onto a convenient pile of cushions, blinking up at her when she raised the lights. "I'm going to tell you something, Harry. Overkill. It doesn't matter if you think you've disarmed your opponent, they might not actually be out for the count just yet." She released him from the spell, giving him a hand up. "And as you've seen, a stunning spell has to hit dead on for it to be at all useful."

"But I hit you. I know I did."

"I dodged. You hit my arm. And trust me, if a Death Eater has two arms, they know how to use both in a duel. Spells don't stop being effective if you layer them, so go ahead and hit your opponent more than once."

"Somehow, I doubt this is the sort of thing that I'd be taught in school."

Ryua bared her teeth, although she wasn't sure if it were a grin or a grimace. "The curriculum and the ministry are still operating under the belief that you can win a duel by being honorable and skilled. I know that you win a duel by being nasty, cruel, and relentless. Any muggle girl will tell you that in order to win a fight quickly, you kick a man in the groin. That's still an excellent thing to remember. A bludgeoning charm to the chest is disorienting, painful. A bludgeoning charm to the groin or kneecap is so excruciating it's incapacitating."

Harry winced. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Sure thing." She looked over at the clock that was conveniently on the wall. "Now, I could go on all night, but it won't stick if you're too tired. Not to mention that we both have Potions tomorrow morning."

"Oh. Right. I'll send Hedwig to the Hogsmeade pet shop tomorrow…" he said, remembering about the lacewing flies. "We shouldn't need that for a couple weeks, though."

"Yeah," Ryua agreed. She looked over at him, grinning mischeviously. "Walk me home?" His answer was just to sweep the cloak over both of them before walking out of the room.


	23. Something

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Something

"It's really quite impolite to put your hand there, you realize?" she whispered to him as they walked.

"What? Where?" Harry asked innocently. "I didn't notice anything wrong."

"I'm sure not," Ryua said dryly, leaning against him.

"So, I take this new willingness to touch me is an indication that you're finally done that occlumency thing?"

Ryua grinned. "Maybe…"

"Oh, good." Harry stopped walking and pulled her into a corner. "I really hoped so."

"You know," she said, leaning over him with her hands on either side of his head against the wall, "This is rather inappropriate. I could lose my teaching license."

"What license?" Harry asked, leaning forward to kiss her neck. "You've never done anything legally in your life."

She was momentarily distracted by the feel of his lips. "I... I have so!" she gasped.

"Oh yeah?" he said, pulling back. His eyes were twinkling wickedly. "Name one."

She glared at him, starting to speak. And then was rather disgruntled when she couldn't immediately think of anything to say. Harry chuckled, and then took advantage of her open mouth and kissed her.

About two seconds later, her arms had folded, completely losing their strength. The search for legal activities had flown clear out of her head as she fell softly against him. In fact, she doubted she could form one coherent thought at the moment. It had only been a week, but she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed even the most innocent contact with him.

And Harry was rapidly distancing himself from innocent. Apparently he'd missed her as well, and was making up for lost time. His hands drifted down her back, the light pressure of his fingers making her skin shiver. He found a bare patch of skin at her waist, and Ryua involuntarily flinched away. The night air had chilled his fingers, a fact he was apparently enjoying the effects of. She pressed against him, trying to pull away from his fingers as he trailed his way back up her spine under her shirt.

Ad then there was a sudden rush of cold air on her back, and an amused voice came from behind them, "You know, it's rather inappropriate to get naughty with your instructors, Harry. Causes all sorts of problems later on."

"Ron!" Harry yelped, snatching back his cloak. "What the hell?"

"Wondered what was taking you so long. It's almost midnight, you realize, and Hermione was incensed that you hadn't done any Potions work yet." Ron said cheerfully.

"How'd you find us?" Ryua asked curiously. "I didn't know you could see through invisibility cloaks."

"Mmm? Oh, with this," he said, waving Harry's Map in the air. "Invisible people show up just fine."

"You are a real pain in the ass, you know?" Harry grumbled. "I still have to take her home."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said. "But I'm coming anyway, just because you never do something bad I haven't done with you. So I can bother you! This is fun!"

Ryua vaguely considered hitting him with something not too dangerous, but it'd probably cause more problems than it was worth. They did make Ron walk outside of the cloak anyway, because he was a prefect and still technically allowed out of bed at this time of night.

This didn't stop him from using the map to precisely pinpoint the back of Harry's head for a forceful prod when the goodnight kiss lasted for longer than he wanted to stand there. Ryua stepped out of the cloak, glaring at him before ducking into the Slytherin house. "That hurt," Harry muttered as they walked back up.

"I was bored." Ron said. "I blame it on that girl of yours. Her Slytherin-ness is rubbing off on me."

It was obvious that Pansy had been waiting for her when she got back. "So, where've you been? It's way, way after hours."

"I was… doing extra credit work for Professor Card," Ryua said, almost truthfully.

"Oh, I doubt that," the prefect snapped. "He doesn't even like you."

Ryua raised an eyebrow at her tone, "Jealous, are we?"

"There's nothing to _be_ jealous about," she said, sniffing disdainfully.

She couldn't resist. "Well, I'm not worried. Card and I have become rather good friends, you know." There. At least that'd give her a direction for her nasty little mind to go in that wasn't Gryffindor. "Good night."

Ryua made a mental note to tell Card that Pansy would be poking around, while she changed into pajamas. It'd make life difficult if he didn't go along with her story.

It took all of five minutes to fill him in the next day. He noted that she ought to be more careful about people catching them, to which she sighed and agreed impatiently.

Making the Polyjuice potion in class started off without a hitch. Harry didn't know exactly what it all was, but he had watched Hermione put it together four years ago. Between the two of them, the potion started merrily bubbling away, and they cheerfully ignored Severus' dark stares. "He's very pissed," Harry remarked quietly.

"Yeah. But he'll get over it." Ryua said, trying not to grin too broadly. "He's stuck with me anyway, so it's much, much easier to just get along. Not to mention that we both have enough enemies, we don't need any more."

"You lead a very dour life, have you noticed?" Harry remarked, absently stirring the potion. "You're always paranoid that someone coming up behind you is trying to kill you…"

"To be fair, they often are."

"You can count your friends on your fingers, but the number of people who'd cheerfully see you dead are about as numerous as the number of people in Hufflepuff…"

"Nobody in Hufflepuff wants me dead… Well, maybe Michael Forner. I did turn a very important piece of anatomy into a carrot one DA class."

"You did?" Harry asked, amazed. "How did I not notice this?"

"Finch-Fletchley turned it back before it became a problem…"

"Well, at least that's a sort of normal problem for a teenage girl in school to deal with. Unlike bloodthirsty family members, Ministry bureaucrats, the majority of all Death Eaters…"

"So I have a busy life."

"That's one way to put it, I suppose."

"The word among the Hufflepuffs is that Forner's still orange." Ryua added nonchalantly.

"Ouch."

Ryua grinned. "Not really. He was making some very rude, fictitious comments about Ginny. He deserved to _keep_ a carrot, as far as I was concerned."

"Again. Ouch."

She laughed at the slightly pained expression on his face. It was so incredibly easy to incite feelings of discomfort in anything male…

Author's Note: I am so, so sorry about the long wait, and then the short chapter. In all the time that I've been writing, I don't think I've ever had such a hard time with it. I barely squeaked out the two and a half pages, compared to my usual five or more. I could really use some inspirational comments, because I've hit a terribly rough patch of author's block. Please?


	24. Quidditch

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Quidditch

Cheers erupted from the Quidditch team when Ryua announced that she'd booked the pitch that evening for their first practice. They still had a complete team, so they had a head start on the other houses, not needing to go through tryouts.

Ryua teased Harry about it all through DADA, as he'd only gotten the pitch for tryouts two days later. He pointedly tried to ignore her, since he loved flying just as much as she. Occasionally, Card glared at them, and they subsided for a while before Ryua mentioned how nice the air would be that evening, and Harry responded with a comment that her team would need all the good conditions they could get…

She didn't even bother trying to talk to Neville about it. She knew the boy was just as uncaring about flying as she was about plants. Hagrid looked very pleased with himself as the two of them walked over to his cabin. "Hagrid, why is there a leg of raw beef over your shoulder?" Neville asked, looking slightly pale.

"Extension of the flying horse lesson today. Yeh've covered Abraxans, and the usual taming ones. Now yeh get Thestrals. An' since yeh can both see 'em, it'll be a better class than last year."

Neville kept trying not to look at the drops of blood that oozed out of the bone joint all the way into the forest. He winced at the wet, squelching noise it made when Hagrid dropped it in a clearing too. "Not a very strong stomach, Neville?" Hagrid asked cheerfully, kindly wiping off his hand before clapping him on the shoulder. "That's alright. Lots of decent people don't like blood."

"Most of them, actually," Ryua noted. "Not many truly healthy people actually _like_ the stuff."

And then the Thestrals entered the clearing, a little cautiously at first, then relaxing when they saw Hagrid. "One o' my favorite creatures, Thestrals," Hagrid said cheerfully. "Beautiful creatures, dead loyal, and they hold a lesson well, once you get it across what you actually want."

Ryua was happy to see that they were completely occupied by the leg, and weren't staring at her anymore. They'd gotten worse this year; one of the carriage ones had actually tried to lick her, moving the carriage and terrifying the second years perched inside. None of them had been able to see it, of course, which only made it worse.

Hagrid was talking about the finer points of navigating with Thestrals, joking with Neville that he'd know all about it, of course. Neville was trying his hardest to not think about flying. It wasn't a strong suit of his. Ryua was telling him that she wished they'd let her come along last year when she felt a tickling on the back of her neck, and hot breath in her ear. She turned around, sighing as the Thestral delicately licked her cheek, then lay it's head gently on her shoulder. "Hagrid, why do they like me so much? I actually cause disruptions walking too close to the carriages now."

"Mmm? That's odd. They don't like many people. Certainly not any students."

"Why not?" Neville asked, gingerly patting the overly friendly one.

"Cause they're attracted to blood and death. So, yer either bleeding, dying, or done somethin' illegal over the summer."

Ryua scowled. "Bloody nosy beasts… I squashed Rodolphus Lestrange a few months ago. Oh, he deserved it," she said at the looks on their faces. "He _was _trying to kill me and Draco."

"Squashed?" Neville asked, looking slightly faint.

"Well, maybe it was sort of a splat. He was moving very fast by the time he hit the cliff." Now Neville looked really faint. "You _did_ ask."

"Yeah… yeah, I know I did." Neville sighed. "Remind me not to ask you anything in detail anymore, okay?"

"Well then." Hagrid said, at a bit of a loss of to how to continue. "Well then. Er.. since they like yeh so much, they'll do almost anything you ask. Smart creatures, Thestrals. Smarter than the other winged horses, that's for sure."

The rest of the lesson continued on from there, relatively normally, except for Ryua occasionally getting smothered by a Thestral or two. "At least they're light," she remarked as they walked back up to the castle. "Or I wouldn't have any toes left by now."

"Did you really kill Rodolphus Lestrange?" Neville asked quietly, not quite looking at her.

"Yeah," Ryua said, figuring it'd be pointless to deny it now.

To her immense surprise, Neville didn't seem the least bit revolted by it now. "He was one of them that tortured my parents, you know."

"No, no I didn't." Suddenly his almost approving attitude made sense. "I think there's a lot about you that you keep hidden, right?"

"I don't like being the center of attention. And when people know things, they talk about them." He shrugged.

"Well, I won't," Ryua said in as understanding of a tone as possible. "There's plenty of things people don't need to know about me too. Like the fact that Rodolphus was my second kill. Blaise Zabini was the first."

"I remember he was always acting like a real jerk, a creepy one." Neville said, surprising her again. "I guess he deserved it, eh?"

She looked at him, a ghost of a smile crossing her face. "Yeah. He kind of did." They went the rest of the way up to the castle in a companionable silence. They might be about as unlike as it was possible to get, but they'd probably always find something in common. An odd friendship, but Ryua thought it'd work out just fine anyway.

After they all finished supper, of course, the Slytherin team noticed that there were only six Nimbus 2001s sitting in the broom shed, and Draco's looked slightly the worse for wear. Crabbe and Goyle were too dense to bother asking, Ashley could guess, Josh was still too shy, but Cassie naturally blurted out, "What happened to you two? Brooms, attitude, Ryua's got at least one new scar…"

"Got in a fight," Ryua said, not looking right at her and suppressing the urge to rub at her cheek. The scar itched now that Cassie mentioned it. "My broom didn't survive the summer. So I got a new one." She pulled her broom off of it's rack, ordering the team out so they could get practice done. "I'll fill you in later if you really want, but we need to use the sun."

It felt indescribably good to be up in the air again. And, she had to admit, it was very nice to not have to worry about being cursed out of the air. Duck a bludger maybe, but no Death Eaters. Except for the ones she knew about, of course. She looked sadly down at her team for a moment, realizing that only Josh and Cassie had actually escaped the Dark Lord's clutches over the summer.

She shook off the moment of pensiveness, switching tracks to think of what she'd have to do with the team this year. Crabbe and Goyle were still experts at smashing things, although she'd have to fight to keep their marks at a high enough level to keep their place. Josh, manning the goal hoops, was going to need a little confidence. He'd done fine when he thought it was just a temporary fill, but when presented with the full job, he'd gone a little shaky. Nothing that a few words of encouragement wouldn't fix, though. Much easier than Ron. She grinned, thinking how hard Harry would have to work to get his friend in playing condition.

Cassie and Ashley were still bickering between them, and doing wonderfully. Apparently, the arguments helped their playing as well as friendship, and they got along famously. Draco also looked relieved to be doing something he really enjoyed, although he was having a bit of trouble getting his broom to do some of the finer movements. Ryua made a note to get it repaired before their first match. She doubted the Death Eaters had been very gentle during his flight.

Everyone was warming up nicely, and having been a complete team the year before was very beneficial. They all knew how each other moved, although every one of them, herself included, was having a little trouble adjusting to Ryua's new style. She was operating close to a Firebolt now in maneuverability. Flat speed was maybe a little less, but the absence of regulating spells made up for it in unpredictability. They were used to having the exact same speed and flying abilities in the air, an advantage that none of the other teams had likely ever had. However, no body seemed to mind too much, as Ryua gained more and more control over her flight.

They only stopped practicing when Draco said he wouldn't be able to find the snitch again in the fading light. The entire team was looking the most cheerful Ryua had seen them this year, and she was completely glad. When she told Draco to take his broom with him to get it repaired by Madam Hooch, Cassie remembered Ryua's promise to fill them in on the events of the summer. "You're not getting a very detailed version," Ryua said flatly. As much as she hated to admit it, her friends couldn't be told certain things anymore, just in case.

"A few weeks after we got home, you'll remember the Death Eaters broke out of Azkaban. Lucius brought them over to our house first. Draco and I had been practicing Quidditch, when Lucius came out. We were honestly leaving…"

"I left. Ryua got in a real snit and stayed around." Draco interjected.

"I was justified. He killed my snake." She grumbled. "Anyway, the rest of the Death Eaters came through before I could finish the job, and drove me off. They went after us on brooms. I got Rodolphus on my tail, and lost him before blacking out. When I woke up, I was in the Weasley's house, of all places. I stayed with them for the rest of the summer." There. No incriminating details, safe, and sums up the summer in less than thirty seconds.

"I got caught, obviously," Draco said bitterly. "Lived through it though. And so we're here. And you can all stop bothering us about it now."

"Well…" Cassie started to say, then paused, unable to think of anything else. "Any other confessions?" she asked brightly.

"I accidentally walked in on a Death Eater's meeting in my uncle's living room," Ashley said, shrugging. "Not too exciting, is it?"

"Mum said I wasn't likely to pass this year, so I'd better prepare for the worst," Crabbe put in, Goyle nodding agreement behind him.

"I… I went to Canada over the summer." Josh said. "Figured I ought to get out of the country. Looks like I was right."

Ryua nodded. "Sensible of you. Cassie? You're the only one left. How'd you dodge it?"

She grinned. "My family doesn't believe in getting involved before it's obvious who's the more powerful. Not the most honorable philosophy, maybe, but it worked out alright for me."

"Nice. Well, now that we're all done bonding, it's full dark, and we really ought to be getting back, or we'll be getting it from Snape. The teachers are terrified of a Death Eater attack on unprotected students, you know," Ryua said.

Ashley snorted. "Yeah. That's really going to affect us…"

"In our case, they don't want us sneaking out to meet with our fellow evildoers and planning an attack on unprotected students," Draco speculated. "Doesn't matter what your case is, we're just not allowed out after dark."

Just before everyone separated to go to bed, Ryua pulled Cassie aside briefly. "By the way. Don't schedule anything in the evening tomorrow."

"DA meeting?"

"Yep."

"Sweet!" Cassie looked almost like she'd explode, but managed to swallow it before going off to bed.


	25. DA

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

DA

The next day's classes seemed to go by with aching slowness, as thoughts of the first DA meeting were very, very forward in Ryua's mind. She hadn't realized how much she really liked them until they got caught out and had to stop last year. Even though they had a good teacher this year, every single old member had cancelled whatever plans they might have had to attend. Even Fred and George had sent owls saying they wished they could be there, along with some of their newest candy line. Ryua had picked up a few pieces, thinking she'd just leave them where Pansy could get at them.

Potions was even worse, because she, Harry, and Hermione all talked about it quietly enough that no one would overhear. "So, what've you got planned?" Ryua asked as she stirred their potion.

"Mostly review," Harry replied. "I want to see who survived the summer, who's still coming,"

"Everybody," Hermione put in.

"Who remembered anything, and what any new members know." He finished, watching Ryua stir their cauldron. "I love this potion. You mostly ignore it for weeks." They spent the rest of the class reminiscing about last year's meetings and speculating what would happen this time around.

Cassie wasn't faring any better, and she practically mobbed Ryua at lunch. "This is going to be so much FUN!" she squealed, eyes sparkling. "What time is it at?"

Ryua laughed; her enthusiasm was infectious. "He's moved the meeting up until right after supper. Apparently, everyone he's come in contact with has the same feelings about it."

If it was possible, the afternoon seemed to pass even slower, which did make it easier to get the extra homework done, anyway. And then, the classes were over, supper had started, and the ceiling above showed the fiery steaks of color of the setting sun.

They saw Harry take off the moment he could to get to the Room of Requirements ahead of anyone else. Ryua and Cassie melted away from the Slytherin group into a side passage behind a suit of armor. By the time they made it to the Room, the crowd outside had grown to an incredible degree.

The door opened, and Harry's eyes widened. "We're going to need a bigger classroom," he noted, moving aside so they could all enter. Once everyone was seated, he turned to face them all, grinning nervously. "So. Welcome to your first DA meeting. For those of you who don't know, it stands for Dumbledore's Army, since they Ministry was so terrified that he was training us all up to take over." Everyone laughed at this little bit of history, and he seemed to relax a little.

"There aren't quite so many needs for secrecy this time around. We kept up our meetings throughout Umbridge's ban last year, so we'd all have a shot at passing our various exams and surviving the summer outside of Hogwarts. Now, I'm not sure about all of you," he said, his expression becoming serious and confident. "But the practice saved a whole lot of us from the original group. I'm sure you remember how Luna, Neville, Ginny, and the three of us took on the entire conclave of Death Eaters?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I'm telling you all to never do anything that stupid. We were very lucky to get out of it alive.

"Granted, there are times coming where we'll have to fight, even the Ministry accepts that now. Ryua had to fight her way out of her own house this summer, I know," Harry said, eliciting surprised looks from the group, "And the Creevy brothers had a little spat too. When a group of Death Eaters came sniffing around their muggle neighborhood looking for trouble, they set up such a racket of magic that they turned tail and ran, thinking the Aurors had ambushed them." He looked very proud of his students.

"That's why we brought our friends," Colin piped up, looking like he might explode with happiness at being mentioned by Harry. "They're all muggleborn too." That explained a group of very timid-looking boys around Dennis' age.

Harry nodded, looking around the room and asking new names. There weren't many Ravenclaws this year; apparently, Chang was feeling slighted that Harry wasn't responding to her fawning. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff made up the bulk of the class, and Ryua was proud to point out Cassie, who cheerfully waved at everyone. "We'll relax the wards on the parchment this year," Harry said, passing around a new list for names. "Since we won't be expelled for holding a group. Once you put your name on the list, you aren't allowed to betray any of us, or talk openly about the lessons to people who might make bad use of it. I'm sure you all remember what happened to the girl who ratted us out last year?"

For those who didn't it only took a few whispered words to straighten it out. It didn't stop anyone from writing their name, and Cassie eagerly scrawled her name down. She seemed very happy to have something other than the Slytherin house to relate to. And when Harry had them all partner off, Neville made a point of coming over to welcome her. "It's really the last thing any of us would have expected, eh?" Ryua said as Harry wandered over her way. "Neville Longbottom, the emissary to the Slytherin house."

"Yeah. He's really grown up a lot." Harry sighed as Colin Creevy hit a bookcase. "But they haven't yet. Mind taking Dennis? He'd have a harder time throwing you around, I think."

Ryua grinned, agreeing with that particular assessment. The little guy was so excited about his prowess over the summer that he'd seemed to lose all control over the strength of his spells. "Dennis!" she called over the din of people laughing and being stunned. "Come over here!"

He came, too hyper to be really nervous. "Yeah? Didja see me? I've gotten loads better!"

"Stronger, maybe." Ryua said, looking down at him. He still hadn't hit a growth spurt, and came up to maybe her elbows. "But you need to learn control. So you're going to practice on me, because you don't know any spells that can cause _me_ serious harm."

Eagerly, he stepped back a few paces, trying to stun her. To save time, Ryua blocked most of them, refining his accuracy and power use. "It's just a stunning charm, Dennis," she said as she dropped her shield. "You don't need to put quite so much of your energy into it. You're using enough to power a much more advanced spell now, so relax a little."

And so the evening progressed, the older, more experienced people pairing off with the newer ones, and Harry calling out various spells they all ought to know. At the end of the lesson, Hermione handed every new person their very own DA galleon, explaining how they worked to summon people. Neville, Ginny, and Justin patched up everyone's minor bruises and cuts from falling into things, as they were the only ones who'd mastered healing charms yet, and everyone left for their common room with 10 minutes until curfew.

"Well, good on you, mate," Ron said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "You've just circumvented the DADA curse."

"Curse?"

"The one that says a teacher can only stay in that job for one year." Ryua put in. "We haven't been the only ones going through DADA teachers, you know. Even in Severus's time, nobody stayed for more than a year."

"Well, just to ward off any ill effects that might decide to befall me now that you've mentioned it, I'll just say that it's not technically the DADA job." Harry said, with the paranoia that comes from living in a school where things twist around what people say.

"I didn't know that you knew the definition of circumvented, Ron," Hermione said, mildly teasing him.

"Being around you this long, some big words have to rub off," he prodded right back. "The know-it-all-ness is a little overpowering."

"Good luck keeping those two apart all the way back to your tower," Ryua said, grinning. "And congratulations on your first meeting." She kissed him before she split off from them, well enough that she felt slightly dizzy when she finally turned away. Ron was already bugging him before she'd gotten ten steps, of course, and she was grateful she didn't have to deal with him all the time.

And that was when Cassie stepped out to walk beside her. "You ought to be more careful where you do that, you know," she commented mildly. "Somebody could rat you out to one of the Death Eaters."

"Oh, shut up…"

Cassie just grinned, poking her in the shoulder. "You really like him, huh?"

"No, I just go around kissing random people." Ryua wasn't good with being teased much.

"Oh, he likes you back, I can tell." Cassie said. "He looked very happily dazed when you were walking off."

Ryua sighed. "What am I going to do about it, Cassie? If I actually bring this into the open, my father's going to flip."

"And this has stopped you before?"

She snorted. "No. But I already fought my way out of my house once this year. I don't want to do it again."

"So don't go home for Christmas."

"I wish." Ryua said. "He's going to find some way to force me, I can just tell. And I can't stay here over summer."

"So move in with me. Or those Weasleys. Or Granger. Or even Harry, if you like him that much. You'll come of age this summer anyway, right?"

"I'm not moving in with him…" Ryua said, blushing slightly.

Cassie grinned at having made her blush. "Well, even if everyone finds out, it's not like Lucius'll be able to do anything to you. Could you imagine the scandal if the Minister was found abusing his daughter?"

Ryua forced a laugh, wishing it were that easy. She'd already tried to get him on that count, and gotten Draco, and therefore herself, branded. And there were plenty of spells that didn't leave any recognizable marks. If she tried to complain, or do something nasty to him, they'd put it down as the ravings of an unstable woman, jealous of his rise to power. But it was a point. She wouldn't end up with anything permanent… maybe it wouldn't be so awful after all. It was weeks away, in any case. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe you're right…"

"Although if you decide to announce it publicly, I'd do it at the Gryffindor table, cause they shouldn't try to kill either of you outright."

"Mmm. That's a good point." It was an incredibly tempting thought. It would be such a relief to not worry about sneaking around, hiding her activities. It wasn't like she wanted to be on Voldemort's side anyway, so why worry? "What about you? Just going to remain an independent, or are you planning on marrying a Weasley?"

"That's for me to know and you to guess."

"Oh, come on. You've milked me for information…"

Cassie laughed. "I honestly don't know. Really. Except that I don't want to be a servant of the Dark Lord. It just doesn't have a good job description, you know?"

"No kidding."


	26. Hogsmeade

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

This chapter, and the next few too, are for Rohan Bernett. Because you deserve it.

Hogsmeade

The Quidditch practices were coming along wonderfully, and Ryua used every inch of influence she had with Severus to get the pitch. The extra time in the air was definitely showing, and her team was performing beautifully, early mornings as well as evenings. There was the first injury, a fractured shoulder from Crabbe's over-enthusiasm. Cassie let loose with a string of profanities that Ryua had no idea the girl knew that only stopped when Draco cast a numbing charm on the bone and sent her up to the hospital wing. "Looks like that Charms class is coming in handy after all, eh?"

"Yeah. I know the theory about actually fixing bones, but I didn't want to mess it up."

Ashley leaned down, grinning at him. "You wouldn't want to pull a Lockhart."

"Yeah. I'd have to kill you, and then I'd be short two players." Ryua said, grinning.

Josh, deciding that it was boring by the hoops all by himself, came over to join them. "Hey there. Everybody going to Hogsmeade?"

Ryua's eyes lit up. "Yes! I have no money, but I'm sure I'll find something to do."

"How can you _not_ have money? You're a Malfoy."

"I," Ryua said with a sigh, "Am a disowned Malfoy. I have enough money to finish school, but not a whole lot extra."

"Gives you a whole lot of understanding for those Weasleys," Ashley said, leaning on Draco's arm.

"No kidding. And I only have myself to support. It's a good thing we all wear school uniforms, or I'd be out of luck clothing-wise."

"Maybe you just need a rich boyfriend." Josh said innocently.

"Yeah." Ryua said, hiding a smile. "Maybe that's the trick."

During DADA that afternoon, the whole class was talking about the weekend. Card made an announcement that all students were to stay in large groups at all times, just in case of a Death Eater attack. Ryua saw Harry's expression light up and he whispered something to Hermione.

She came up to Ryua after class, looking excited. "Harry wants to hold a DA meeting in the Shrieking Shack."

"Really?" Ryua said, a grin coming over her face. "That sounds like a brilliant idea. And completely with the rules. We're supposed to stay in big groups."

"That's what gave him the idea."

"Are we doing that the whole visit?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, just the last three hours. We want to give people some time to go to Hogsmeade too."

"Good."

"You just want some time with Harry."

"Maybe."

Even with the distractions of a full Hogsmeade visit, everyone cheerfully accepted the meeting time, happy to have another one so soon. Petting a few of the more insistent Thestrals on her way past, Ryua boarded the same carriage as Harry, feeling that she didn't really care who saw her with whom anymore. "Hi."

"Hello," Harry said, grinning back at her. "You're very bold today, getting on with me."

Ryua shrugged. "I'm tired of sneaking around. There's nothing Lucius can do to me without damaging his reputation, and anyway… I like you better than any of the reasons I shouldn't be around you."

"I'll accept that," he said, smile broadening. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno," Ryua said, grinning shyly. "I've never actually been on a date before. What are you supposed to do?"

"You're looking at me for answers? Don't ask me, I don't know…" he said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"We could go to the Hogshead, except that you have to be sober if you're teaching a class."

"Yeah… I guess we could just wander and see what there is. We could have some lunch or something."

"Okay." They managed to avoid having any more passengers, simply because nobody liked to disturb Ryua. This was something she found herself quite enjoying. Harry edged closer to her, trying not to be noticed. He was about as unnoticeable as a salamander in a pack of newts, but she let him think he was doing well anyway.

Eventually, he got close enough to put an arm around her waist. Ryua settled happily against him, noticing that his hair was brushing her forehead from where she rested her head on his shoulder. "Your hair's getting longer."

"Really?" he asked, having completely not noticed. "I never pay attention to it. It's always looked exactly the same. The same length, regardless of what my aunt did to it."

"She used to try and make you look like a proper gentleman, then?"

"Mmm, that was the public reason. She really did it to humiliate me, I think. It didn't do any good, it just grew back by morning."

She looked up at him incredulously. "And you truly believed you weren't a wizard until someone came looking for you?"

"Well…" he said, looking almost embarrassed. "The Dursleys are about as solid muggle as you can get. They tried their hardest to make me grow up like them. Every time I did something odd, like jump on top of a building, or grow back my hair… they'd lock me in the cupboard under the stairs. When I set a python on Dudley, they didn't let me out for weeks."

"No wonder you were so little when you first got here." Ryua said, laughing. "You had no room to grow."

"I'm still short."

"Only compared to someone like Ron or Dumbledore. And anyway," she said, kissing his cheek, "If you were any taller, I'd get a crick in my neck all the time."

This pronouncement seemed to make him a lot happier about his height.

When they actually got to Hogsmeade, they discovered they had rather a lot to do, really. There was the package of Lacewing flies at the Owlrey waiting for Harry to pick up, completing their list of potion ingredients. "Now all we need is some jade," Ryua said, satisfied.

"There's a jewelry store down by the Three Broomsticks," Harry said, tucking the package of flies into a pocket. We can go look for some before we stop for lunch."

There was a selection of raw precious and semi-precious stones at the back of the store. Although the school would provide the students with a low-grade stone if they couldn't afford one, they'd both decided that they might as well get a good piece. When working with something as finicky as Polyjuice, it was important to use only the purest ingredients. A little limestone or something mixed in could be disastrous.

Ryua winced a little at the prices. "I feel kind of guilty here." At least she'd been able to find just a small piece.

"Don't worry," Harry said cheerfully. "Think of it as a present from your boyfriend."

"Thanks," she said, smiling crookedly at him. "I have tremendous sympathy for Ron now, it's awful to have no spending money to speak of."

"So don't worry about it," Harry said, putting an arm around her shoulders for a quick hug. "Because I do, and I happen to like you."

She grinned at that, trying not to look too excited. At least she was able to bury herself in a menu for a few minutes at the restaurant, getting herself back under control. By the time Madam Rosmerta came by with butterbeer, she could look at Harry again without blushing.

After a leisurely lunch, it was almost time for their DA meeting, and they left quickly enough to set up the old house. There were still drag marks and dog tracks in the dust from their third year, so Ryua set about blowing clear the room and a pathway through the house to it. She made sure to only uncover the safest parts of the floor, so people would know where not to step. Harry was strengthening the floorboards and warding the windows so no stray curses could escape, and he called down to tell her that the first people were coming.

Ryua shoved her pile of dust into a corner and beat some of the dust out of her clothes, looking up to greet Neville, Luna, and Ginny on their way up the path. Even Luna looked truly interested in her surroundings, and Neville looked faintly worried. Ginny looked downright excited, saying, "This is a completely brilliant idea. This is going to be so cool…"

"We've got it all tidied up in the dining room. It was the largest one in the house that Professor Lupin and friends hadn't completely destroyed." Ryua said, grinning. At their curious looks, she said, "Oh, Harry'll give you the history when everyone's here. Come on up." They were expecting a slightly smaller class, since none of the first and second years could come to Hogsmeade.

It hadn't really occurred to either of them that most of the school still thought the Shrieking Shack was haunted. It was only after the Creevy brothers squeaked and hid behind Harry for the third time that he figured out what was wrong. He laughed, and told everyone to sit down. Harry gave them the condensed version of the Marauders' story, explaining that the howls and shrieks in the past had been from their own Professor Lupin, and that eventually his father and Sirius black had turned into large animals to come and play with him. He also noted that if any of them ever saw a scabby looking rat with a silver foot, that it was Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort's servant.

Everyone looked a little more settled after that. "Now, I didn't bother to put sound barriers on anything, since the rest of the world still thinks this place is haunted. Still, try not to be too over the top, okay? I'm not a structural engineer, and I don't want the ceiling coming down on our heads." Neville started to look nervous again after this announcement, and Ryua was tickled to see that Cassie was bothering him about it.

That bit of information out of the way, Harry said that they'd work with incapacitating spells today. "In case someone you know is under the Imperious curse, you don't want to kill them or cause them pain.

"The most well-known one is Expelliarmus, but I wouldn't recommend using it against someone really dangerous." Without warning, he fired the spell at Ryua. She let her wand go without a second glance, and picked him up off the floor with wandless magic.

"I could also just go and hit him. Just because someone's been disarmed doesn't mean they can't fight." Ryua said calmly, one hand still raised to keep the spell going.

"You could put me down now," Harry said, waving down at the students.

She grinned up at him. "Oh, fine then. At least I didn't pick you up by your neck. That's a very painful way to incapacitate someone."

Back on the ground again, Harry shook himself. "Wandless magic will come later this year, once I know everyone has a good grasp on it normally." They went over all the basics, stunning charms, leg-lockers and body binds, and the more gentle bludgeoning charms. Hermione was partway through explaining levitating charms when the door flew open with a crash.

Card was standing in the door, breathing heavily. "Death Eaters. Everyone back to the school!" he snapped, not even inquiring why they were all in the Shrieking Shack.

Ron, acting like a true prefect for the first time ever, started herding people along the old, dusty tracks to the underground passage. "We'll take them through here. Nobody should know about this passage," he called over the heads of the students. Card nodded, waiting to follow the last of the students through the passage.

"You know, we're probably the most dangerous bunch of students in the school," Ryua said, pushing Dennis after his brother. "We don't need a guard."

"My secondary purpose in this school is to protect Harry's closest friends," Card reminded her. "The other students in Hogsmeade all have teachers guarding them. I was sent after your group."

Ryua nodded, not really liking having a guard, but accepting the sense of it anyway. "Fine. You take the rear in case we're followed, I'll go towards the front in case someone is watching the entrance." She trotted along the throng of people, wanting to be the first one through the Willow in case they were being ambushed. Hermione saw her going past and started to try and catch up, but she was stuck behind a group of people.

She was still just within sight of Ron when the passage sloped upwards. And then she realized something was terribly wrong. _It's completely silent._ The Whomping Willow should be making enough racket to be heard under the ground. Which meant that someone was up above, immobilizing the tree. Someone who knew how, which meant it was either Professor Lupin, or Peter Pettigrew. She wasn't about to bet on it being a kindly old teacher of theirs, though. And if it was, she could apologize later.

Sending a jet of red sparks back, the universal Hogwarts sign for danger, Ryua crept right up to the door, listening. Card and Harry came up behind her, Harry immediately recognizing what was wrong. "The Whomping Willow isn't moving." He whispered.

Card didn't bother asking why they knew or why this was important; all that mattered was that it was a dangerous sign. "You two stay here. I'll go up."

"Like Hell." Ryua hissed. "We're not going to let you go up there alone. What if it's full of Death Eaters?"

"Then you and the rest of the students will be safe."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron and Hermione are guarding the rest of the class. I think Ginny, Neville, and Cassie are trying to break through now, so we ought to get this over with before they get themselves in the thick of things."

Not waiting for a response from Card, Ryua simply blew the trap door open, springing through in the resulting cloud of dirt and firing a stunning spell towards a shadowy figure. The yelp was recognizable as Avery the elder, and Ryua called down, "It's them. Come on!" before she started picking out more targets in the gloom.

She was vaguely aware of Card slipping out behind her, climbing the tree to clean out the branches. Harry came and stood back to back with her, his body warm and reassuring behind her. Card's voice came down, disembodied in the branches. "There are a whole lot of them… someone knew about this passage and was banking on someone using it." Someone in black robes plummeted to the ground, screaming before hitting the ground with a wet-sounding thump.

"Wormtail must be here," Ryua snarled. "He's the only Death Eater who ever knew about this passage."

"If you find him, kill him slowly," Harry said. Ryua was a little taken aback at the harsh tone in his voice. She'd never heard him that full of hate before.

Slowly, she smiled, creating a solid bubble around a Death Eater's head to cut off his oxygen. "I'll do my best," she said, blocking a rather sad jet of fire and retaliating with one about five times the heat. The smell of roasting flesh filled the clearing, and from the lack of screams, she knew it must have killed her target. A small part of her figured she'd worry about the moral implications of that later.

Ginny came through the hole next, casting her specialized bat bogey charm on a Death Eater trying to surprise her from above. This produced a very nasty effect when contained under a mask, and Ryua was ferverently glad Ginny was on her side. "How many have you taken care of?" she asked, dashing quickly over to the two of them.

"At least two permanently," Ryua said, flinging another against the Willow. "I don't know how many are stunned."

From up above, Card called, "I just lost one. He turned into a rat…" Harry took off, demanding a direction. Ryua swore and ran after him, Ginny being joined by Cassie and Neville. Their attackers seemed to be melting away anyway, apparently Wormtail's retreat calling for a general backing off. Of course, they couldn't just apparate, as they were on the grounds, but once they made it to the forest, they'd probably have brooms waiting.

Ahead of her, Ryua saw Harry shout with triumph, levitating something small and gray out of the grasses. She breathed a sigh of relief that he'd accomplished his goal and could now come back when she saw Bellatrix drawing back her wand, white light gathering at its tip.

Ryua yelled for him to duck, and he did without question, summoning the rat towards him at a tremendous speed. With Harry out of the line of fire, Bella's spell came right at her, and she threw up a somewhat shaky shield, trying to throw herself backwards, knowing she didn't have a chance of avoiding it. She never even saw the second curse.

Harry stuffed the safely petrified rat in his pocket, looking around, but both the Death Eaters had disappeared into the trees. He crawled over to where he'd heard Ryua from, finding her lying unconscious on the ground. His call for help brought Neville running over immediately. "She got hit with…something… I don't know what. Bellatrix and someone else got her at the same time."

After trying to enervate her, Neville shook his head, eyes wide. "I can't do anything, Harry. Something bad enough to knock Ryua out… she needs to get up to the hospital wing."

Card walked over to see what was wrong, picking bits of willow out of his hair. "What happened?"

"I found Pettigrew, and Ryua's hurt." Harry said, picking her carefully up. "She's still breathing though."

"Well, now that you've moved her," Card said, "You might as well take her up to the hospital wing. And next time, don't pick someone unconscious up. You might cause more trouble than you'd save."

Harry nodded sheepishly, heading up to the school with Neville and the majority of the DA class behind him. Some of them looked a little green, as Colin had asked who'd been barbequing. They hadn't been expecting Ginny's bluntly honest reply.

Card did a last sweep of the grounds, shooing the last of the DA members up to the school, where McGonnagall was waiting, ushering students inside the castle gates. Just as the last hysterical Hufflepuff girls were on their way up to the gates, Card heard a crashing sound behind him and he whipped around, wand pointing at the forest. Ryua stumbled out, rubbing at a raw patch on her cheek. "That bitch got away from me. Slammed me pretty fucking hard into a tree to boot… Killed two more of them though… What the fuck are you looking at, Card?" she snapped, glaring at him.

Author's Note: I am in the process of getting a computer, so updates may be a little postponeduntil I get it all settled. When I do, though, it should mean more regular updates.


	27. Aftermath

Someday I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Aftermath

"Ryua?" Card asked, looking mistrustfully at her with his wand still pointed at her chest.

"Yes!" she snapped. "Who else would I be? Now put down your fucking wand before I bury it in your neck." Her own wand snapped up, pointing it directly at him as she advanced. The fact that she'd just threatened a teacher didn't seem to worry her much.

"Ryua," Card said, eyes narrowing, "I just saw Harry carrying you into the castle."

She stopped moving, although her wand stayed raised. "What? That's not possible. It must be some sort of a trick. Polyjuice or something..."

He cocked his head suddenly, looking closely at her. "Ryua, what happened to your face?"

"The bruise? I told you, Lestrange threw me into a..."

"No." he cut her off, then reminded himself not to do that anymore as her hand tightened on her wand. _Her left hand..._ Card knew she was ambidextrous, but why the left... "Never mind. Let's just get you up to Hogwarts and figure out what's going on."

He made sure she preceeded him, which obviously irritated her. Ryua's stride was jolting, and although her wand had disappeared again, he knew if he made any sudden moves that wouldn't matter much to her. At the castle door, she raised both arms to open the heavy doors, although she used her left to turn the knob and pushed with her forearm to open it. The door wasn't designed for left-handers, and it was awkward to open the door, having to reach across to use the latch. "What's wrong with your hand?" he asked, now sure something was wrong.

She turned to glare at him. "Lucius, broke it, of course. More than two years ago, it's been like this as long as you've known me. Maybe you're the one needing an examination," she growled, turning furiously on her heel and continuing to the hosptial wing.

She opened that door left-handed too, and she was halfway across the room before people started doing doubletakes. Most of the room had been cleared out by now, with just a few of the DA members and a handfull of more seriously injured students from Hogsmeade still getting patched up. Harry turned around from where he was sitting next to a bed. "Card, she still hasn't..." he trailed off, looking up at her. "_Ryua?_"

"Yeah." She snapped. "Everyone seems to be surprised by that today. So let's see this mysterious double of mine." She leaned over, looking down at herself. "It's not me," she said shortly. "Look, straight nose, flawless skin, perfect right hand... someone fucked up."

Card grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around. "I knew something was wrong," he said, grabbing her chin to look properly at her face. "You've never had a broken nose before. Or this scar," he said, tracing a thick one running between her eyes and across her slightly crooked nose.

"If you don't get your hands off me, I will remove them at the wrists," she said cooly.

"You're right..." Harry said, frowning, "But there was also one here..." he touched the unconscious Ryua's cheek, "Her hand shouldn't be this straight... and she's missing some on her back," he finished.

Ryua glared at him. "So now we're both fakes?" she growled. "I don't buy that."

"Neither do I," Card says. "You sit down, and we'll get Dumbledore down here."

"Don't order me around, Card," Ryua snapped.

"I'm still your teacher," he replied, glaring right back at her. "And you're under _my_ jurisdiction for the time being."

"Give me one good reason," she hissed, her left hand already on her wand, her right crooking awkwardly for a wandless spell.

A jet of pale blue light from their left struck Ryua in the side and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Madam Pomfery came over, tucking her wand back in a pocket and looking grim. "I haven't had to sedate a student in a very long time," she said, shaking her head. "I think you ought to go get the headmaster, and perhaps Draco as well before it wears off."

Card nodded and departed, directing one newly recovered student to summon the headmaster while he went off to the dungeons.

When Dumbledore entered, he was shocked to see one of his students in magical restraints. "What happened, Poppy?" he asked, walking over to a seething Ryua.

"She tried to attack Professor Greenbay again, Albus," she sighed.

"Again?"

"He was being a prick," Ryua growled across the room at aforementioned man.

"I asked her to calm down," Card said, Madam Pomfery having ordered him to stay across the room.

"He was trying to take my wand!"

"You seemed a little trigger happy!" He snapped.

"Why don't you take these fucking restraints off and I'll show you just how..." She subsided into a sullen silence when Dumbledore curtly gestured for quiet.

He was a little relieved she still listened to him, at least. "If somebody would please inform me as to what is going on, I'd very much appreciate it," he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. This was going to become a long, long day.

"From what we can tell," Severus said, standing up from beside the other bed. "Ryua was hit with multiple spells during the attack, maybe a time-altering charm and a cutting curse like Sectumsempra. The combination has split her into two, but I'm not entirely sure of the division, or if it's even reversable."

Draco was sitting in a chair across the room, looking slightly green. "I can only feel one of them, I think..." he said, sounding very, very confused, "But it's like the good half, the part that made her likeable, is muted somehow..."

"Oh thanks for the resounding assurance of my sanity," Ryua said sarcastically, glaring at him as best she could while restrained.

Just then, the other Ryua stirred, and Draco put his hands over his eyes, wincing at a rather large headache coming on. "Ooooh... never mind, she's all there now..."

She pushed herself up slowly, looking around. "What happened?" Her voice, although recognizeably Ryua, was soft and somehow subservient in a way it hadn't ever been before.

"We aren't entirely sure," Madam Pomfery said, coming over to reassuringly pat her hand. "Somehow, you've been broken up into two aspects of your personalitly."

Ryua looked reluctantly over to where Pomfery was pointing, and met her own gaze. Although their eyes were identical down to the last fleck of color, they couldn't have looked more different. One pair was soft, open, somehow innocent, as if at least half of her life hadn't happened. The other was hard, absolutely cold, and made one distinctly uncomfortable. Involuntarily, the Ryua on the bed shrank backwards a little, recoiling as if from a blast-ended skrewt.

"You both appear to be in perfect health, at least," Madam Pomfery said, trying desperately to calm the tension in the room. "Although I'd like to keep you both here for observation."

"Why am... is she tied up?" Ryua asked, unwilling to look at herself for any length of time, yet unable to keep her gaze averted.

"Because they're scared of me," Ryua said, a slow, cold smile crossing her face.

"Ryua..." Harry said, quietly. It was the first time he'd said anything since the second one had appeared. Both of them listened to him as well, Dumbledore noted, although he wasn't sure if that was because of emotional attatchment or respect for a poweful wizard. "I know this can't be easy... but we'll find some way to fix it. I promise."

Nobody expected their rather violent reactions to this statement. "You mean stick us back together? But... I don't want to be like her," Ryua said, shaking slightly as she cringed away from her other self.

"You have to be joking. I don't need that pathetic weakling as a part of me," Ryua hissed. "I'm more powerful than I've ever been now." The restraints started to tremble as she pushed against them, and Dumbledore reinforced them with a quick flick of his wand.

"There's no telling what effect this will have on your psyche, or magic, or even life energy," Severus said, reproachfully. "If you don't cooperate, I'll have you both sedated indefinately, if need be." They both settled into a silence after this, one glowering, one worried. "Draco? You know her best, if you could find out what the division is, it would help me immensely."

Draco looked up, nodding, and then winced as the movement made his head pound. Madam Pomfery bustled over to give him a headache charm, and he sighed gratefully. Dumbledore gestured for everyone else to leave, and Pomfery went back into her office, leaving the twins alone. "So..." Draco said, looking over at his sister. "...could we figure out some different name for each of you? Maybe one could go by our last name for now?"

"My name is _Ryua_," the one still tied down hissed. "I'd prefer not to be reminded of who my father is."

"I... I don't mind," the other said quietly. "If it makes life easier."

"Okay," he said. "That's a beginning at least... So now we have to decide what's different about you."

"Easy." Ryua said. "She's pathetic, whining, and has no backbone."

"And she's mean and violent and out of control," Malfoy retorted with the most heat Draco had seen from her yet. Which wasn't much.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Draco sighed, coming over to Ryua's bed and unspelling the restraints. "I figure you won't attack me or yourself. Right?" Ryua shot him a look, but sat up, rubbing her wrists where she'd pulled almost too hard at the bands. Draco noticed the scars on her wrists were still there, and inquired about them.

"Blaise Zabini, brother dearest," Ryua growled. "I didn't think you'd forget about that in a hurry."

"So I assume you fought back."

"Yeah. And killed him. Obviously."

Draco turned to Malfoy, raising an eyebrow. "Wrists?" he asked, holding out his hand.

They were perfectly smooth, the skin unmarked. "And what about you? Did it happen?"

"...yes."

He was floored. "And you didn't fight back?"

"I... I couldn't... I lost my wand and he had me tied up..."

"You just... did he..."

She hung her head. "While he... when he did it, I lost control, and my magic threw him across the alley. I didn't mean to kill him, it was an accident..."

This was disturbing in more ways then Draco could count. That she'd roll over and let anyone touch her, let alone fuck her, was completely foreign. And the fact that she was full of remorse over the death of someone she hated was even worse. "Never mind. What about your hand? It used to be shorter on the last two fingers, broken in a fight."

"No..." Malfoy said, shaking her head.

"Oh, please. You can't have completely forgotten that one. Summer before fifth year, Lucius broke it when he got too scared of my abilities. And broke it some more. Tore three of the tendons, and nerve damage on top of it all." She raised her hand, trying to stretch it out to full length. The fingers stayed partially curved, and she flicked the last three. "No feeling."

"I didn't get in a fight..." Malfoy said, her eyes horrified, yet unable to look away.

Draco walked along behind her, sliding a hand along her back under her shirt. He frowned, lifting it up. "You have no deep scars. Did you miss the last half of your life?"

Ryua snorted with disdain. "She's never fought back. Lucius always got pissier when I fought back. Or disobeyed, or looked at him the wrong way..."

"I assume your nose was from another fight?" Draco asked, sighing.

"Yeah. You know that ceremonial mace that's hanging above Lucius' office door?"

"Ouch."

"No shit."

"So how badly are you beaten up?" he asked, not entirely sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"You know old Mad-Eye?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm probably halfway there already. Maybe more."

Malfoy looked like she might throw up, or maybe faint. Draco touched her shoulder briefly. "And what about this summer? There should be a scar along your cheek and shoulder here."

"Simple," Ryua said disgustedly. "I'll bet she ran like a scared rabbit before any of the fighting started. And that's even if she had the guts to run."

"Why would I run?" she asked, sounding honestly curious.

Draco looked at her for a moment, before saying slowly, "Because our father had just broken out of Azkaban, and was looking for someone to torture."

"He wouldn't do that," Malfoy said, looking uncomfortable. "He wouldn't really want to hurt me..."

"Oh, but he does want to hurt you," Ryua hissed, grinning cruelly. "And I'll bet he does, doesn't he. Maybe not as violently as if you fought back, but he still hurts you."

"Shut up!" Malfoy cried, clapping her hands over her ears, tears trickling down her cheeks. Draco took an involuntary step back, then turned on Ryua.

"You are not helping here. Now, you may be more skilled and ruthless than I am, but I still have my wand, and I'll curse you if I have to." Draco said heatedly. "I know it's not easy, but try to at least be quiet, if you can't be nice."

Ryua subsided for the time being, and Draco turned back to Malfoy, fighting down the headache that seemed to be coming back despite Pomfery's spell. "Okay. Back to this summer... what happened?"

"Father came home," Malfoy said quietly, and Draco shivered to hear her still calling him Father. "When he called to us, I flew down, but you ran away. I don't blame you, he's always been meaner to you..."

Draco blinked at that statement, surprised. In his experience, Lucius had always used the brunt of his fury and magic on his sister. He gestured for her to go on, his mind frantically trying to sort out what had happened.

"The... the others came out of the house after you'd gone, and took me inside. I didn't want to... but there were so many of them..." Malfoy was getting more and more upset as she talked, but Draco was filled with a sort of a morbid curiosity and kept encouraging her. "They... they started to curse me, and..." she broke off, gulping.

Draco stifled a groan. He didn't need it spelled out; a pack of frustrated, emotionally-damaged Death Eaters with an attractive, completely biddable woman cooped up in the same room as them... "Just skip ahead," he said. "I can fill in the details myself."

"By the end... _he_ came in. The Dark Lord, they'd called him... I just wanted them to stop, and they said if they let him brand me, they would..." Her hand clenched on her left arm, covering the only mark she had gained from the split.

Ryua couldn't contain herself by this point, and frankly, Draco didn't blame her. "You just gave up? Did you even once try to fight back? Curse someone? Hit them, or bite them? They must have been close enough to bite," she growled nastily. "Either their hands or their tongues or their..."

"That's enough!" Draco snapped, pulling his wand out. "I'm on a really, really short fuse right now, Ryua. Don't make me do this."

"You were thinking it too," she said, a hint of triumph in her otherwise disgusted voice. "You know you were."

He was against her bedside in an instant, his wand digging into her neck. "Leave it." he said through gritted teeth. "Now, your turn. What happened to you?"

"After you left," she said, sneering, "I went down to kill him. I almost managed it before Bellatrix came around and cursed me off. I didn't stop fighting until I was cursed unconscious. I woke up in a chamber, with Dolohov. He asked if I still wanted the apprenticeship. I accepted."

Both of them stared at her. "You voluntarily took the Dark Mark?" Draco whispered.

"Of course," she said. "Oh. You weren't expecting that, were you.? You thought I was the part of your sister you knew, dark but good. Well, here's something else you weren't expecting." She leaned forward, until her lips were almost brushing his ear. "I was the way around our mother's foolish spell. _I_ gave you that Mark."

Draco was absolutely floored. He'd always known his sister was dark, cruel, maybe a little ambitious, but he'd never, ever expected to be betrayed by her. Suddenly too tired to deal with either one, he asked Madam Pomfery to come back in and take control, and left to find one of the teachers.

Severus was waiting outside the hospital wing for him. "It sounded like it was getting ugly a few times,"

"You have no idea," Draco said, leaning on the wall for the needed solid support. He forced himself to concentrate on the needed information, forcing Ryua's betrayal out of his mind. "One of them is completely aggressive and cruel, the other so incredibly weak that she's barely recognizeable as my sister. And I've started referring to them as Ryua and Malfoy, respectively."

He nodded, accepting the sense in that decision. "Go on. I'm going to need more of an idea if I'm going to reverse this."

"You will be able to, right?" Draco said suddenly, his eyes desperate.

"I hope so. Now, information?"

"Right," Draco sighed. "Ryua seems to have all the aggression, cruelty, ambition, courage, and pride. She doesn't know when to run away from a fight, nor does she have the least bit of guilt over killing people. And I don't think I've ever seen my sister be that cruel to anyone before.

"Malfoy, on the other hand, is almost pathetically eager to please. She hasn't ever fought back, from what I've heard, and also seems to have the rest of the emotion. She's worried about whether people like her, about how to stay out of trouble... and she was crying earlier. My sister hasn't cried in many years now, and certainly not about Lucius. Oh, and she's still calling him Father." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Ryua killed Zabini, Malfoy let him fuck her before she accidentally killed him. Both of them had an ordeal this summer... Malfoy gave up, got herself cursed, raped, and branded. Ryua... Ryua... fought them, of course, but didn't run when she should have. When she woke up, the offered her the Dark Mark. She took it. And..."

"Yes?" he asked after a pause.

"You know how Bella was able to get around our mother's spell? Well... It turns out that if Ryua had relinquished the protection, she could get past it and brand me. That's what she said happened in her version."

"Oh." Severus said, trying to assimilate this information. "I am truly sorry to have had to put you through that. Would you like to fill in the Headmaster, or should I do it and let you get some rest?"

"You do it," Draco groaned. "My head feels like it's being split in two. I can only imagine what they feel like."

"My dreamless sleep potion is on the third shelf from the top in my office," he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take a dose before you go to sleep, and I'll excuse you from classes as long as you need."

"Thank you," he said gratefully, turning down to the dungeons. Severus sighed, and turned to the hospital wing. There weren't any sounds from inside, indicating that Poppy had probably drugged at least one of them. Satisfied that they'd both be safe until he got back, he went to fill in Dumbledore.

He was somewhat disgusted to find that Harry Potter hadn't left Dumbledore's side yet, but supposed there were parts of this he really ought to know anyway. He told them almost exactly what Draco had said, leaving out what Zabini and the Death Eaters had done to Malfoy, and the fact that Ryua had branded her brother. "We have to get this fixed before Christmas," Dumbledore said quietly. "Lucius has called for all students returning home for the holidays, arranging for a full Ministry guard to accompany the train. And I don't want either of them alone in a house with that man."

"I'll do my best," Severus said, nodding. "Walk with me, Potter,"

Harry followed, worried. "Can you help them? Her?"

"I believe so. It should be just a simple process of identifying the splits, the spells used, and reversing everything. But there's something you really ought to know for the time being."

"Something you didn't want to tell Dumbledore?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Dumbledore isn't going to be in the same position you are likely to be." Severus says, still wishing she'd picked anyone but him. "Ryua is much, much colder and more ambitious than you could ever have imagined before. And Malfoy, the softer one... Both Zabini and the Death Eaters this summer had their way with her. Even if she can stand physical contact with you, you're going to have to take it very, very carefully."

Harry stopped walking, going pale. To his credit, he seemed more worried about her than vengeful or disgusted. "Is she... is she okay?"

Severus sighed. "Even before this, she wasn't okay, Potter. She hasn't been for a long time. And now I don't know if she ever will be."

Author's Note: Ooooh, I'm having so much fun. If you're very, very confused, lemme know and I'll try and fill you in. Unless you're supposed to be confused, of course.

Oh. And my computer has no Microsoft Word. Therefore, I have no spell check, so please excuse any errors.


	28. Reactions

Someday I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Reactions

By the time Madam Pomfery was allowing visitors to the hospital wing, Ryua and Malfoy had been moved to opposite ends of the room, and a magic dampening field erected around Ryua's bed. This didn't seem to worry her much, but even she looked happy to see Harry when he walked in. "So. Finally made it up to visit, eh?"

"I've been trying since Snape filled me in on what's happened," Harry said, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. "She's only just now opened the door to visitors."

"Huh. Typically bitchy of her." Ryua snorted. "She's asleep again by the way."

Harry looked over where she was pointing, seeing Malfoy lying unmoving in her bed. "That's not really a good sign. She's never been one to rest willingly unless she's injured or sick."

"She was bothering me earlier, so I shut her up."

"What? How?" he asked, turning to face her.

"I just... constricted her breathing a little, that's all. That bitch over-reacted and moved me over here. She even put up a spell so I couldn't use magic."

He looked like he was having a little trouble grasping this. "Oh." he said eventually. "I see."

She smiled at him, somehow looking more like Lucius than she ever had. "You aren't happy about that, are you?"

"Well, I can't exactly deny it... she's you, Ryua."

"She's not me," she snapped. "We're completely different. I wouldn't be like her for the world."

"Still," he said, trying to convince her, "We don't know what'll happen to you if one of you is hurt or killed. Please just leave off for a while? Okay?"

She regarded him cooly. "Are you pleading with me, Potter?"

"I..." He seemed taken aback by her question. It wasn't what he'd been expecting, that's for sure. "I suppose you could look at it that way..."

Ryua's lip curled in a cold smile. "Good. I like the way you sound." Her left hand reached out, curling around the back of his neck and pulling him towards her. She viciously kissed him, pressing hard against his mouth.

He squeaked slightly in surprise, and tried to pull away. Her hand tightened, fingers reaching farther around his neck, and he stopped moving, feeling the strength in her grip. Her tongue forced it's way into his mouth, ravishing his without any kind of consideration for his comfort. He was almost gagging, held tightly in an awkward position, and there was a disconcerting part of him that enjoyed it...

"What do you think you're doing!" came a high and furious voice. Ryua relaxed her grip slightly, enough for him to pull away, rubbing at his neck and looking slightly shocked at her. "You're supposed to be resting, not, not... canoodling!" Madam Pomfery was irate, shaking an angry finger at them both.

Ryua gave a sharp bark of derision. "Canoodling? What kind of a ridiculous word is that? And I'm bored. You've confined me to this tiny corner, with nothing to amuse myself. What did you expect?"

"You. Stop talking or I'll sedate you again," she snapped, fingering her wand. "And you! Get off of her bed. Now!"

Harry obediently scrambled backwards, his eyes still fixed on Ryua. Madam Pomfery shoved him towards the door. "There. You've visited. And the other one's still asleep, so get out of my hospital wing."

He stumbled out, and turned to see the door close in his face. "Bloody hell..." he muttered, staring at the door. Shaking himself, trying to dispel his mesmerism, he turned, walking away.

Ron and Hermione were waiting for him at the end of the cooridor. Only one person was allowed into the wing at a time until Pomfery felt confident in how her charges would react. "So? That was quick." Hermione said, looking at him. "You look rather odd."

"Mmm? Oh, it's nothing. I got kicked out." he said, shaking his head.

"You got kicked out? Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "You're practically a full-time resident there."

"Well..." he started, then couldn't really think of a way to proceed. He sheepishly rubbed at his neck, and winced. It was still tender.

"And what's wrong with you?" Hermione asked, reaching for his hand.

"Nothing," he said, dropping his hand quickly.

Ron, being the typically horny teenage boy, came up with the explaination first, of course. "She snogged you, right?"

"Hey! I don't think that's any of your business..."

Hermione looked at him disapprovingly. "Really, Harry. In the hospital wing? No wonder she kicked you out, if you started that with a patient."

"She started it..."

Ron looked positively gleeful. "One or both?"

"Ron!" Hermione snapped, disgusted.

"Oh, come on. Two of your girlfriend? What guy hasn't dreamed about that one?" Ron said brashly, then yelped when she hit him. "Mione!"

"You're being very insensitive!" Hemione said snappishly.

Harry sighed, listening to them bicker. Hermione was more upset about it than he was anyway. He'd be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind, of course, but he'd seen the way the two of them got along. If they couldn't even tolerate each other's presence alone, on opposite ends of the room... "Would you two just knock it off? I think I'll mostly avoid them until they're fully back to normal; safer that way." He rubbed his neck again, fingering sore spots on either side of it. He wouldn't really be surprised if she'd left bruises.

The two of them looked apologetically at him, stopping their arguement.

.o0o.

Three days later, Ryua was still split into two people, and Madam Pomfery was nearly having a nervous breakdown. She'd called Dumbledore down to her office, not willing to leave them alone for any length of time. "Albus, this is getting ridiculous. I can't manage them like this. They're going to end up killing each other."

"Not to mention that Severus still doesn't know how to reverse the spell. He's having trouble with the timing charm, as well as getting the spells to work compatibly." In fact, Draco and Card had been doing the majority of his marking while he devoted his free time to the spells. "And she's missing a lot in her lessons. She's still a sixth year student, and the classes haven't stopped."

"Please send them somewhere else," Pomfery said, begging. "Malfoy just huddles in a corner all the time, terrified of her darker half. And I don't blame her. _I'm_ terrified of her darker half. I haven't ever seen such an out-of-control, dangerous person in my life. She's actually working through my ban on magic, I caught her levitating things yesterday."

Dumbledore sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry to have put this burden on you. But you're right, they have to start functioning again, for a variety of reasons. I believe we ought to keep them separated, and paired with another person at all times, however."

"Definately." Pomfery declared, nodding her head sharply. "That girl's dangerous. But who are you going to stick her with? Someone you hate?"

"Of course not," he said, shaking her head. "Professor Greenbay would be the ideal choice, and I'll have him keep a close watch... but he's too busy with his teching jobs to do it properly. It'll have to be Draco, I think. He has the talent, and the intuition to at least keep her mostly under control."

Draco and Ashley were immediately summoned, as Madam Pomfery was eager to get rid of Ryua. Dumbledore greeted them at the door, both of Ryua now awake and watching. "We've decided that these two can no longer stay in the hospital wing. I need to ask you both if you'll... mentor them until we can fix the problem."

"Both together?" Ashley asked warily. She could maybe have handled Ryua, at least for a few minutes, before the split. Now, she wasn't about to press her luck.

"No. No, Miss Snape, you'll be taking Miss Malfoy, and Draco, Ryua. If there are any problems, of course, just let me or Severus know."

"Okay," Draco said, not letting any nervousness show. "She'll be getting her wand back, I assume? She can't do lessons without it."

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, pulling it out of his sleeve. "I've put my own spells on it, however, preventing her from casting anything major."

"What, don't trust me, Dumbledore?" Ryua said mockingly, pulling it out of his grasp.

"No. I don't. And if I hear of any bad behavior, I _will_ have you sedated until this is figured out."

"Tch. Fine."

Malfoy had her own wand already. It had been duplicated, along with their robes, and as she hadn't tried to curse anyone, had been allowed to keep it. "So I get to go back to classes now?"

"Yes. You have rather a lot of catching up to do. I'd reccomend splitting up your classes, as a matter of fact. Since you have two of yourself to work on it, you may as well take advantage of the situation," he said, waving them out. Madam Pomfrey sagged visibly as they left, sighing with relief.

.o0o.

Draco had managed to get his head wrapped around the idea of having his sister split in two, and his headaches had dropped off, leaving him with just an uneasy state of wrong-feeling. "So... which classes are you each doing?"

"DADA," Ryua said quickly, "and Potions."

"I don't want to have to deal with Care of Magial Creatures," Malfoy said quietly. "Hagrid was supposed to bring in a small manticore this week."

"I'll take it, but you deal with everything else," Ryua said.

"Hey!" Ashley put in. "That's not fair. That'll leave her with way more work than you."

"It's okay... I don't mind."

Ashley sighed. "We have to work on getting you to stand up for yourself."

Draco checked Ryua's timetable, which he'd borrowed earlier to make a paper plane out of. "Well... Malfoy's got Arithmancy and Herbology after lunch then. Ryua'll have to come to Charms with me, and then we can both have a free period. And Potions is half-over now, Potter's probably going nuts with that potion."

"He'll just ask Granger for help," Ryua said. "Let's blow off the class."

"No. I have Pansy for a partner, and she's useless. I have to go."

"She'll be fine for a day. Come on..."

Draco had to admit he wouldn't have minded. Pansy still hadn't quite gotten the fact that Draco was unavailable inside her head, and kept trying to be seductive. It was very distracting, and slightly disturbing to boot. "We can't. Come on."

Ryua sighed, but followed him down to the dungeon. It'd be fun to tease Harry some more anyway. Malfoy followed Ashley to her fifth-year Charms class without the slightest bit of protest.

Severus nodded as they came in, and Draco made the pair behind Ryua move so he was in a better spot to keep an eye on her. Harry jumped as she slid smoothly into place beside him, chuckling at his nervousness. "What're you so jumpy at? I don't bite."

"Somehow, I doubt that," he said dryly, meticulously chopping lacewing flies. "The potion is in it's last stages, by the way, it should just need another week of simmering after this."

"Well, what a good little boy you've been," she remarked sarcasticly. "And why do I get the feeling you'd enjoy it if I bit?" She leaned over to nip at his ear.

He jerked away, glaring at her. "We're in the middle of Potions class!" he hissed. "Behave!"

"What if I don't want to?" she scoffed.

"Then I'll curse you unconscious," Draco offered, prodding her shoulder with his wand. "Because you're disgusting me right now."

"Thank you, Draco," Harry said sincerely, then winced at the glare he recieved from Ryua.

"Fine. I'll behave. But you ought to watch yourself later on, Harry..."

He paled, shuddering slightly, and bent studiously over the lacewing flies. Ryua leaned back in her chair, watching him, debating whether he was apprehensive or excited. Either way, she'd enjoy herself.

The class passed quietly after that, Ryua only gathering a few curious looks. She'd been absent three days, and unlike traditional Hogwarts injuries, her condition hadn't been talked about. One or two people tried to ask her about it, but subsided at her glares, leaving her to relax.

.o0o.

It was lunchtime before both halves met up again. Malfoy was looking remarkably more relaxed, and drew a few stares of her own. She looked happy, and not at all mocking, reserved, or as bored as she normally did. It made for a completely different looking person; open, completely happy, relaxed... Draco found himself staring. She hadn't looked like that for over a decade now, and it struck him hard somewhere deep inside.

Ryua noticed, and leaned against him, whispering in his ear, "You look like someone broke your heart, brother."

He swallowed, shaking himself. "I'd forgotten what you used to be like," he said quietly. "What we both used to be like."

"Well, that was a long time ago," she said flatly. "That's not real. That emotion? That personality? It's artificial, only existing because I'm not part of it."

"Stop," he said, almost in a whisper. "Just stop, for a few minutes." She hadn't really let off since she was paired with him, subtle jabs at him, or Harry, or whoever struck her fancy, seemingly unable to comfortably coexist with people. It was wearing him out, and she'd only been with him for an hour.

Ashley saw Draco's exhausted expression, and came to sit beside him, Malfoy sitting carefully on her other side. She didn't say anything, because she knew it would only make Ryua be harder on him. All she could do was just give silent support, and hope that would be enough.

He did get an unexpected break in Charms. Ryua made the mistake of making a disperaging remark about mudbloods only being fit for charms and minimum-skilled labor when Flitwick was within hearing range. He turned around and performed a lock-jaw charm, sounding absolutey furious. "Miss Malfoy, I have been informed of your circumstances. This does not excuse you from behaving in a civilized fashion in my class. I will not take that charm off until I am finished teaching, and you will report to me for a detention this evening. Is that clear?"

She glared at him, almost angry enough to retaliate, but not stupid enough to risk Dumbledore's involvement. The headmaster was one of the few people in the school capable of matching her in magic, and therefore one of the few she wouldn't cross lightly. Her eyes still glinting angrily, she nodded briskly, and went to sit beside Draco, fuming.

He knew she was furious, could feel her anger pushing at his mind, but couldn't help but be relieved. Somebody else would deal with her that evening, he could pay attention in class, and do homework while she was occupied.

Flitwick released the charm at the end of class, and reminded Ryua of her detention. She barely nodded before stalking furiously out For their free period, Draco pulled Ryua onto the Quidditch pitch, hoping to wear off a little of her aggressive energy. She certainly had no lack of it, playing chaser to his keeper, not holding back at all.

Some of the shots Draco just let through, not willing to risk breaking something stopping them. Ryua wasn't playing with quite as much skill as usual, he noticed, but she more than made up for it in intensity. He was panting by the time the sun went down, his robes sticking to his back. Ryua had been working just as hard, and she actually looked happy, laying forward on her broom, the quaffle held loosely in her hand. "Hungry?" he asked.

"You bet." She rolled over, diving down to the ground to replace her broom and the quaffle. Privately, Draco made a note to exhaust her every chance he got, as it seemed to make her more manageable. Her hair was damp from exhertion, clinging to her face and neck, her quidditch robes stuck to her back and chest, rippling as she breathed. And she was being sort of companionable now, still feeling the adrenaline glow from the workout.

She even stayed happy all through supper, although her mood started to darken when Draco started pushing her to Flitwick's office. "You have to go. Dumbledore'll be pissed that you _got_ detention, and you weren't even in your own class. He'd be even worse if you didn't show." She grumbled, but went. Draco, relieved to have a couple hours to himself, almost ran down to the dorms to find Ashley. He really, really wanted to spend time with her...

Author's Note: Eh. I'm really not impressed with the chapter. It was rushed, I'm sorry about that. I needed to get it done today though, because I'm leaving for school day after tomorrow. Although I'm staying somewhere with a computer, I doubt I'll get much of a chance to write, so updates will be sporatic. And please forgive any spelling errors. I'm doing my best, but I have no spell-checker yet.


	29. Night Events

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Night Events

Later that night, Ashley peeked into the sixth year boys' dorm, smiling to see an exhausted Draco dozing on his bed, a copy of '1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi' dropped negligently on his chest. Having Ryua occupied somewhere safe for a few hours was excellent for him, allowing him a few moments of rest. Crabbe and Goyle had been sent a way so he could relax. She grinned at the piece of blank parchment laying under his hand, a dry quill on the bedside table.

Ashley gently freed the parchment, scanning his assignment sheet. Sitting down beside his bed, she started to categorize the 13 types of aloe, and its magical properties. It was just copied directly from the textbook, but that would have to be good enough; she was a year behind him, after all. She was completely unaware of the time passing until she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You should have woken me up," Draco said reprovingly.

"Oh, really, Draco," Ashley said, looking up at him and placing her hand over his, "You needed the rest."

"Okay, true," he said, grinning. He was laying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows. "But I'm sure I could have found another way to re-energize…"

She blushed slightly at the playful expression on his face. "Well… who said I wanted to do that?"

Draco snorted, making her blush darker. "Sure. And I belong in Hufflepuff." His expression sobered for a moment. "Where's Malfoy?"

"Doing homework in her dorm, Pansy's on patrol," Ashley reported, putting down his quill and parchment.

"And what time is it?" he asked, sliding his hand from her shoulder down her arm.

"Flitwick's got her for another half hour yet. He was pretty pissed," Ashley said, smiling. Her cheeks were still pink as she looked up at him.

"I so hoped you'd say that," he said, grinning. He leaned forward abruptly, his hand pulling gently at her arm to change the direction she was facing.

She smiled as his lips met hers, enjoying the rare times they had alone together. Apparently, Draco felt the same way, his other hand gently cupping her cheek, tilting her head to a better angle. He tightened his grip on her arm, pulling her up onto the bed. She climbed up to kneel beside him.

Somehow, she was still just a little shy around him, although she was easily enthusiastic enough to make up for it. Holding his face gently with both hands, she leaned down over him, uncharacteristically taking the lead. She shyly nibbled at his bottom lip, knowing how much she enjoyed it being done to her.

Draco parted his lips, letting her sweet little tongue dart in. His hands worked their way up the back of her neck, tangling in her hair. She sighed happily, her hands tracing lightly over his chest. Since it was after-hours, Draco had abandoned his school uniform, opting for a sweater and soft pants instead. And not just any sweater. A green cashmere sweater.

Breaking the kiss, she smiled down at him. "Mmmm… I could just sit here petting you all night…" The finely woven, high-quality wool was delightfully warm and soft under her fingers.

"I have to admit, I don't hate the idea," he murmured contentedly, looking slightly glazed from the petting.

"We can't though," she said, giggling at him. "You have to go get your sister."

"Don't wanna," he pouted. "Let's just stay here…" He reached up and pulled her sharply down on top of him, kissing her as thoroughly as he could.

For a moment, he'd thought it had worked, but then she pushed herself up, giggling dazedly. "No… No, come on, you have a job to do."

"Well fuck that," he stated flatly, slipping a hand up her shirt, his fingers playing lightly over her breast. "I would much rather stay here."

Ashley groaned as his familiar hands teased her though her bra. "Oh, Draco, please don't start…"

"Why not?" he asked, a sly grin crossing his face. "You obviously like it. And so do I." He flicked open the clasp, running his fingers lightly over her newly accessible skin.

She gasped, her body jumping in response to his touch. She put her hands on either side of him, trying to push herself up. "Draco, please…"

"Please? Please keep going? Okay then," he said mischievously. Levering himself up on one arm, he lifted her shirt, lightly licking one dark nipple.

Ashley moaned slightly, her hands fisting in the bed covers. The last traces of coherent thought flew out of her head at the sudden, unexpected contact. There was a vague sense of being supposed to do something, but it seemed rather irrelevant at the moment…

Feeling rather pleased with himself at so effectively stopping her train of thought, Draco licked her again, tracing a playful line around the dark circle of skin. He kissed the soft, creamy skin of her chest, avoiding the sensitive skin at her tip. She kept shifting, trying to guide his mouth where she wanted it, and he playfully avoided her, knowing it'd drive her mad.

"Draco," she whimpered, her arms trembling, "Stop teasing me…"

"I'm yours to command," he chuckled, shifting himself slightly. He gently closed his lips over the spot she'd been aching for, sucking and caressing the sensitive, hardened bud. His hand slid up to pay similar attention to her left side, making her almost purr with happiness. He bit suddenly, drawing a startled, but muffled shriek from her. Grinning, he licked it soothingly, softly rubbing the skin before switching sides.

Trembling, Ashley sank down, her elbows resting against his shoulders for support. Draco was able to lean back down again, freeing up his other hand. Leisurely, he ran it along her back, sliding around her waist, curving up over her hip and down her thigh. He could feel her pushing against his hand, like a cat encouraging a rub. He was just wondering if she'd let him under her skirt when his Charms book beeped. Both of them were somewhat inclined to pretend it hadn't happened when Flitwick's voice issued from it, sounding rather amusingly flat. "Mr. Malfoy, your sister is waiting for you."

Draco sighed, his hands dropping regretfully back down to the bed. "He should so not be allowed to do that…"

"I have to agree with you there," Ashley groaned. "He just doesn't want to be left alone with Ryua for any length of time."

"I can't blame him," Draco said, sliding out from under her and sitting up. "So… can I help you put that back on?"

"No!" Ashley grinned, slapping his hand away as she did up her bra clasp. "You wouldn't be helpful at all, I'm sure."

"Maybe… but we'd sure have fun!" He made a playful lunge at her, and she dodged out of the way, laughing.

"Draco, you have to go get your sister now! Or Flitwick'll come looking for you himself."

"Oh, _fine_," Draco groaned, poking her stomach as he got up to leave. "You'll have to get her settled into the dorms though, even I'm not allowed in there."

"You're downright cruel, you know that?" she growled, following him into the common room.

He nodded gleefully, leaving the dorms. Reluctantly, he made his way up to Flitwick's office. The little teacher met him at the door, looking and sounding perfectly calm. "Ah, there you are. Now, I won't keep you any later, as I know you have a Charms test to write first thing in the morning. Good night, both of you, and mind that you behave, Ryua," he said, shaking a stern finger at her.

She rolled her eyes, but managed to sound almost civil when she said, "Yes, Professor."

They didn't talk much on the way back, Draco still distracted by thoughts of Ashley, and Ryua not being given to conversation much anyway. Ashley was waiting for her in the common room, and stood up to meet them, shoving Draco gently towards his dorm. He went gratefully, exhausted by the day's events. "Since Millicent never showed up this year, there's plenty of room," Ashley explained, lighting a dim candle in the sixth year dorm. Malfoy was already asleep in said girl's bed, Pansy still out on patrol.

Ryua shrugged. "Fine. Guess we'll see you tomorrow, bright and early then?"

"Yep," Ashley said, nodding. "Now be good tonight. I'll be right across the hall, I'll hear anything that goes on."

"Yes, _mother_," Ryua sneered. "Don't you worry your pretty little head."

Ashley glowered, but did leave, knowing she and Cassie would be awake in an instant if she started anything. Ryua changed into a pair of black pajamas, climbing into her bed.

.oOo.

When Pansy Parkinson came back from patrol, she was astonished to hear Ryua's voice saying softly, "Took you long enough, Pansy."

The two of them hadn't been on speaking terms, let alone a first name basis, for over a year now. "What do you want?" she asked cautiously. "It's late, I'm tired…"

"I thought you'd like the chance at her," Ryua said coolly, jerking her head at Malfoy's oblivious form. "Your detested rival, with all the fight literally taken out of her." Whether Pansy would join in or not didn't matter to Ryua. Malfoy was not going to have a good night either way.

Bored with waiting for the prefect to make up her mind, Ryua moved silently over to the other girl's bed. She placed a hand firmly over her mouth, waking her rudely up. "Good morning, sweetie," she whispered, smiling coldly. "If you scream, I'll kill you, got that?"

Her eyes wide and terrified, Malfoy nodded shakily. Ryua pulled her hand away slowly. "What… what do you want?" she asked, nervously licking her lips.

"Just to talk," Ryua said sweetly. "That's not so hard to believe, is it?"

"Actually, yeah…" Malfoy said quietly, her hatred briefly strengthening her spirit. "It is."

"Bitch!" Ryua hissed quietly, lashing out. The flat of her hand caught Malfoy's shoulder, where the sheet would deaden the sound. "Aren't you supposed to be the nice, sweet one?"

"I'm sorry," she gasped, her eyes bright with tears as she rubbed the spot she'd struck. "I… I didn't mean…"

"Like hell." Ryua growled, enjoying how Malfoy flinched away from her. "Pansy, spell that door for privacy.

Pansy obeyed, feeling much better now that Ryua's energies were all focused on Malfoy. She was starting to get excited now, thrilled by the prospect of being able to let out some of her anger on the girl she hated so much. There wasn't any way she'd try it if there were any chance of retaliation, of course, she didn't have a death wish. Which happened to be one of the reasons she was being so cautious and biddable around Ryua; she wasn't dumb enough to ignore that she was everything dangerous about the girl.

Malfoy drew her knees to her chest, trying very hard to keep calm. Memories of being trapped by powerful people haunted her mind, marking any thoughts of rebellion as being useless. In her mind, there wasn't any point to fighting back, it'd just get her in worse trouble. The thought of victory or escape never even crossed her subconscious. "Please," she whispered, her voice small and frightened. "Please just leave me alone…"

Ryua laughed, sounding honestly amused. "Leave you alone? Now why would I do that?" At Malfoy's numb, non-committal shake, she sneered. "You're pathetic. I just asked you a question."

Another stinging slap, to the face this time, forced a sobbing gasp from Malfoy. "I… Please, I just want you to go away…"

"Go away?" Ryua hissed, leaning in very close, grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her head around. "I'll never go away. As I'm so constantly reminded, we're the same person."

"No, no, I'm not like you, I'm…" Malfoy struggled weakly in her grip, tears starting to leak from her eyes.

"You're what?" Pansy put in shrilly, coming into her field of vision. "Weak? Pathetic? Helpless? Those don't seem like good traits to me. I think your other half is much better. Maybe we don't need you at all."

Ryua's eyes glowed excitedly at that thought. "Hmm… she has a point, you know. I'm better off on my own. You only hold me back…"

"No, no please…" Malfoy sobbed, her hands moving aimlessly in her lap. "Don't hurt me…"

"You know, every time you say that, it irritates me more and more," Ryua snapped, punctuating her statement with vicious shakes of her hand, bruising Malfoy's pale, delicate skin. "Everything you do makes me want to cause you pain!" She let go of her chin, throwing a quick jab to Malfoy's lowest rib.

Malfoy gasped, doubling over. Pansy grabbed at her hair, wrenching her sharply upright. "Oh, no you don't," she said, twisting her hands into fists, pulling her hair cruelly tight. "No easy outs for you!" Malfoy was obviously trying to faint, and Pansy yanked hard each time her eyes started to glaze over to keep her awake.

Ryua smiled, looking as cheerful as most people did while watching a good movie. "Excellent. Hold her there for me. Now. Malfoy. You are going to amuse me tonight."

Malfoy looked up into her face, the similarity sending a shiver down her spine. "A… alright…" she whispered, hoping desperately that if she kept agreeing to whatever Ryua said, she'd get through the night in one piece.

Ryua hit her harder, in the same spot. She felt the bone shift, cracking slightly, and allowed herself a contented smile at the way Malfoy sagged, sobbing, even with Pansy's hands yanking at her hair.. "You're just so easy… couldn't you at least _try_ to make this last?"

Malfoy looked up at her through pain-bleared eyes, her cheeks stained with tears. In that second, Ryua could understand why Lucius had cursed her all those years. He was trying to get that look. Completely helpless, subservient, in that instant completely and utterly hers. Beautiful. Malfoy drew a shuddering breath to say something, and Ryua clouted her across the ear. "What's that? I can't hear you!"

"I… I don't know what you want from me!" she sobbed, wincing with every breath she breathed. "Just tell me, I swear I'll do it…"

"That's easy. I want you to cry. I want to break those pretty, whole bones of yours, I want to make you bleed, and I'll make you lick your own blood off of my hands," Ryua said, her voice harsh. "And if you die at some point during all of that… so… much… the better!" Each pause was a sharp blow to her face, raising welts where her knuckles or palm hit.

Pansy's eyes widened at the bloodthirsty words, but she kept her grip in Malfoy's hair. Ryua was just intimidating the girl, that was all. Blow after blow hit Malfoy's chest, arms, and face, jerking her back and forth. Some of her hair ripped away, making her re-grasp her holds.

"Fight back!" Ryua shrieked, catching her across the chin again. "Somewhere, in that pathetic shell of yours, there must be some spark of spirit!"

It was only when she realized Malfoy was leaning limply against her that Pansy started to comprehend something was terribly wrong with this. "Ryua…"

There was blood on Ryua's knuckles, her fingernails, the heel of her hand, trickling down Malfoy's face and neck. "What?" she snapped, wiping a sweat-slick strand of hair off her face, leaving a streak of vivid crimson across her cheek. Her eyes were furious, inhuman with rage and bloodlust. Pansy shrunk back involuntarily, her hands slipping from Malfoy's hair, the girl falling against her.

.oOo.

Cassie woke up in her quiet dorm next door. Frowning worriedly, she threw her pillow at Ashley. "Ashley? Ashley, come on, wake up…"

"Mmm… huh? What?" Ashley mumbled, raising her head from the pillow.

"Listen," Cassie said, gesturing for her to be quiet.

"I don't hear anything."

Cassie nodded worriedly. "Exactly. Not a single thing. And Pansy snores, and Ryua sometimes talks. Have you ever heard it that quiet?"

Ashley stared blankly for a moment before her brain caught up. "Oh, shit…" The two of them scrambled for the door, grabbing their wands on the way out. Ashley ran across the hall to the door, crashing solidly into it. "Locked…"

"Alohomora!" Cassie cried, breaking Pansy's wards and rushing in.

Pansy was backed terrified against the far wall, her eyes fixed on Ryua. The flicked to the sudden movement; "Ashley? Cassie? I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd ever go this far…" she sobbed, looking back at Ryua.

She was kneeling over a very still Malfoy, her face twisted with hate. Malfoy had deep scratches on her visible skin, numerous angry red spots that were developing quickly into bruises, blood leaking from her nose and mouth, and a badly torn ear. Ryua's hands were locked around her throat, squeezing relentlessly down.

"Expelliarmus!" both Ashley and Cassie shouted at once. Ryua flew backward, slamming hard into the wall. Malfoy gasped feebly, but didn't move. "Help!" Ashley yelled at the top of her lungs. "Parkinson! Go get my uncle. Now!" Pansy skittered quickly out, glad for an excuse to leave the room.

Cassie ran forward to the bed, yelping and ducking as Ryua sent a purple lash of light her way. "Impedimentia!" Ashley shouted, knocking Ryua back against the wall again. "Cassie, I'm not going to be able to hold her forever!"

"I know," Cassie groaned, swallowing heavily. "I'm not sure if I should move her though… she's not moving at all…"

Very suddenly, Ryua lunged forward, wrenching Cassie's wand from her. Rolling back enough for a cast, she flicked it forward. "Sect…"

A flash of brilliant red light hit Ryua in the side, knocking her over, sending the stolen wand skittering. A second stunner, almost immediately after the first, finally shut her body down. Cassie pushed herself hurriedly up, turning around to see a livid Severus in the doorway, his wand still trained on Ryua's unconscious body. Weaving it in a brief pattern, he bound her up for good measure before turning to Cassie. "You're alright?" he asked. "That was a _very_ nasty curse she was about to use."

"I'm fine," Cassie said shaking herself. "Malfoy…"

Severus whirled around, going white. He covered the distance to the bed in two long strides, checking with slightly trembling hands for what was broken or damaged inside. "Her back and skull are mercifully still in one piece," he said shortly, picking her gently up, "But she needs Madam Pomfery badly. Ashley, bring the other to the hospital wing with me, and Cassie, go bring Draco. Be sure Miss Parkinson accompanies you, I've told her to wait in my office." He walked out, his stride quick but carefully smooth. Ashley levitated Ryua, keeping her in front of her, just in case of trouble. She followed him out, Cassie going to do the unenviable job of informing Draco what had happened.

Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I've been so busy with school, I'm terribly sorry for taking so long.

I just wanted to thank HPF and JeannieBeanie for all your support.

That said, I have gotten reviews from only these two for… 5 chapters now. Is anyone still reading this?


	30. Hospital Wing

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Hospital Wing

Ever since the job had existed, the nurse at Hogwarts had slept in a small room just off the main ward and office. Severus blessed this particular arrangement, because it brought Madam Pomfery running before he'd even finished setting Malfoy down on the bed.

"Heavens! What's happened here?" she gasped, looking over the two unconscious girls.

"Ryua's just stunned, Poppy," Severus growled. "She was in the process of beating her other half to death."

"I see…" she said grimly. "Very well. Keep the other one unconscious until I'm done with her." Shedding her overrobe and rolling up the sleeves of her nightgown, she set quickly to work.

It was achingly slow process. A clean break was an easy thing to fix, the same for a clean cut. Crushed or bruised bones took much longer, as she had to find individual splinters to complete the healing properly. However, she'd graduated from St. Mungoes with top marks for blunt impact injury, a necessity for a school with a Quidditch League. She forced herself to pretend this was just a particularly bad bludger blow, because becoming enraged lessened her ability to heal properly.

After the bones were done, she straightened Malfoy's nose, her mouth forming a tight line when she didn't even get a flinch from the girl. A few teeth had been broken loose, and one cracked, but were the trick of just a few moments to heal. She disinfected and healed over the scratches and splits, and decided reluctantly to leave the bruising. Too much healing was a stress on both the patient and the nurse, and she didn't want to send her into an irreversible coma over something that wasn't life threatening.

Ashley and Severus watched anxiously as she straightened up. Draco came barreling in, his face a deathly shade of white, with Cassie and a reluctant Pansy following him. "Is she alright? She feels awful…" Draco gasped, his eyes flicking from one half to the other.

"They're both alive, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfery said, pushing him into a chair. "Now sit there and calm down. You'll be doing her no favors if you end up panicking to the point of fainting, hmm?"

Draco sat without resistance, his gaze fixed on Malfoy now. Severus looked him over carefully, watching for too much sympathetic pain being transferred. Madam Pomfery set wards around Ryua's bed before moving in to check her. "She's got a bit of a concussion. I take it she wasn't cooperating when you tried to subdue her?"

"Yeah…" Cassie said quietly. "She hit the wall and the floor pretty hard a few times."

"Well, that's not a terribly difficult thing to fix," she muttered absently, working gently across Ryua's head. "And she's going to be a bit out of it thanks to those numerous spells you hit her with. Nothing she won't recover from, though. I think I'll keep her out for the meantime however."

"Good idea." Severus sighed, sinking into a chair beside Draco. "I suppose Albus should be told… Parkinson?"

"Sir?" Pansy asked, still looking rather haunted.

"Go fetch the Headmaster for me. The password's caramel creams." he said, waving a hand tiredly. Knowing she was on very thin ice as it was, Pansy left without a protest.

Cassie cautiously walked over to Malfoy's bedside. "She looks so… frail. Not at all like she should."

"Part of that is just physical exhaustion," Madam Pomfery said, looking over at her from her table. She was mixing up a creamy potion good for reducing swelling. "But not all of it. This was an incredible bit of magic that split her in two. That's not just half of her. Malfoy is exactly what she'd be like if she had grown up with only that half of her personality. The same goes for that one." She gestured briefly at Ryua.

"That's going to make life more difficult for recombining them," Severus said, looking sadly at the two of them. "As if it wasn't hard enough to begin with."

"Any ideas?" Ashley asked, coming over to sit beside him and leaning on his shoulder.

Severus was feeling tired and dejected enough to rest his chin on his niece's head. "Nothing very satisfactory. The most basic would be to kill one, and hope we can mesh both halves of her soul into the remaining body."

"That sounds dicey."

"Especially since both halves hate each other so violently." He sighed. "We're going to have to force them into it, and it'll probably go easier when they're unconscious, like this. I'd do it now, if I had any idea how to go about it."

"It'd be nice to have it done now. We've got our first Quidditch game next week," Draco said, then snorted ruefully. "Seems odd to be worried about that now…"

"Not really. All those years of Harry Potter getting nearly killed, the Gryffindor team didn't stop playing when he ended up in the Hospital Wing." Cassie put in.

"Thanks for comparing us to them," Draco sneered. "You do have a point. Although, she is the captain. I might be able to take over, but I'm nowhere near as good at strategy."

"Neither of them is going anywhere near a Quidditch pitch until I say they can leave," Madam Pomfery warned, gently rubbing cream onto Malfoy's bruises, and instructing Cassie to do the same to Ryua's hands. "So the discussion is moot."

"I suppose…" Draco said, looking worriedly at his unconscious twins.

Dumbledore arrived, his face pale as he walked quickly to Ryua's bedside. "They can't stay like this for much longer. Eventually, she's going to find a way to kill the other one. If she hadn't been so bent on drawing it out, she'd have done it tonight, easily," he said, studying her sleeping, yet somehow still harsh face.

"I'm out of ideas, Albus," Severus said, sounding almost close to tears. "I haven't been able to come up with an acceptable solution yet."

"Unfortunately, we seem to be having another problem," he said, sighing. "Lucius Malfoy has gotten word of this little incident. I'm stalling him, but I don't think I'll be able to keep him out of here for more than another day."

"What's he playing at?" Draco asked harshly. "He's going to be no use at all. Probably will make it worse. Ryua hates him, and Malfoy still wants to be daddy's little girl, the two of them'll be arguing more than ever."

"He's probably trying to play to the public, attentive father and all that," Ashley sighed. She didn't like Lucius any more than his children did.

"Or he's trying to find an easy way to off her," Cassie said, "Make it look like something went wrong with her recovery."

"Well, isn't that comforting," Draco growled.

Severus raised a hand, silencing their bickering. "Please. It's not like we're about to leave her alone at any rate. Not after this. It's possible we could leave Ryua here, under supervision or spells."

"I wouldn't count on that as anything other than a very temporary solution," Madam Pomfery cut in. "She has an incredibly high magic resistance. I can't keep her reliably under control."

"And so we're back to how to stick the two of them together," Dumbledore summed up. "Because it's obvious having them separate isn't at all possible.

"I…I…" Severus said, then yawned in the middle of his comment. "I'll keep working on it, of course."

"First, though," Dumbledore said firmly, looking at him, "You are going to bed."

"I… yes sir."

"That goes for the rest of you too," he said, looking around the room. "Nothing will happen tonight, as neither of them are going to wake up."

Reluctantly, the gaggle of students filed out, not about to go against Dumbledore's wishes. Severus followed them meekly, exhaustion making him feel rather young and wanting to be told what to do to make it all better. Sighing, Dumbledore strengthened the wards around Ryua's bed with his own additions, and went to get some sleep. He rather thought he'd be needing it.

.oOo.

Sure enough, the next morning, Lucius turned up at Hogwarts, having finally got through all the useless petitions and meetings Dumbledore had pulled strings to bring about. About the only good thing about this visit, Severus mused, is he doesn't have any reporters with him, only a few attendants. As head of Slytherin, he'd been chosen to show Lucius to his daughter.

"Severus, I'll be wanting details," Lucius said anxiously. "What's happened, and what's being done to fix it?"

He sent a glance of utter loathing Lucius' way. In a very quiet undertone, so no one would overhear, he muttered, "You have the basics. If you want details, why don't you ask your little friend Bella? She's the one who did it. For a concerned father, you sure took your sweet time getting here."

"I had to wait until I heard through… official channels," Lucius said smoothly. "And of course, I was rather busy."

Snape glowered, but held his tongue for the rest of the trip, not trusting himself to speak. Dumbledore was already waiting in the hospital wing, Ryua carefully under his guard. It was a unanimous agreement that she couldn't be trusted around Lucius in the slightest.

The look of hatred on Ryua's face when Lucius walked in made Severus' glower look like a neutral disdain. Dumbledore gently put up a ward to absorb bits of stray magic she might try to hurl his way, but neither of them really expected what Malfoy's response would be.

Although she had nearly no strength at all, it was decided she might as well be awake for the visit. When Lucius walked in, her eyes lit up with a pitiful, hopeful light, and she broke into a faint grin. "Daddy?"

The entire room froze at this. Dumbledore barely remembered to keep his wards up, even though Ryua's bored pushes at it had completely disappeared. Lucius turned to face her, an extremely surprised expression on his face. "Yes…"

"I'm so glad you came," she said quietly, her eyes shining. She reached out a hand to touch his arm, smiling.

Draco, who'd stubbornly refused to go to his first class and miss this, bit his lip, turning away. Ryua furiously redoubled her efforts to break through Dumbledore's shields, and he hurriedly strengthened them, casting a silencing charm while he was at it.

"My dear daughter," he said finally. "Of course I came. I came as soon as I could." He knelt beside her bed, taking her hand in his. "Are you alright?"

"I… no…" she whispered, her lip trembling. Her eyes looked stubbornly at the floor, missing Lucius' look of unholy glee when a tear trickled down her cheek. "I'm not good at all."

"There, it's alright now…" he said quietly, leaning forward to hug her gently. Facing away from his attendants from the Ministry, he looked like the perfect father, comforting his daughter. Only Severus, Ryua, and Dumbledore were at an angle to see his thoughts march plainly across his face. The thought of having a completely adoring, weak, helpless daughter at his beck and call obviously appealed to him a great deal.

Severus started pouring a magical dampening field on Ryua, not liking the wild, insane fury in her eyes at all. Dumbledore shot him a look of gratitude, which shook Severus. For him to be strained, after barely a minute of intense shielding, didn't bode well for keeping the girl under control. "Can we put her under again?" he whispered.

"Not at this level of excitement," Dumbledore murmured back. "And not after she was so battered last night. That amount of magic would be required again if not more, and I don't like to think what effect it would have on her now."

Ryua glared furiously at them both, her magic finally fading under Severus' spell, but her anger still running strong. Malfoy appeared to have fallen asleep again, and Lucius gently laid her back down. "Why don't you wait outside," he said pleasantly to his aides. "I just want a few words in private with the Headmaster." The Ministry officials obediently left.

The hospital wing had been soundproofed for years, since a very memorable banshee transfiguration accident. Once the door closed behind the outsiders, Lucius dropped his sweet façade. "And now the other half of my daughter."

"You fucked my mother," Ryua snapped, the silencing charm shattering. "That doesn't give you any claim to me."

"So harsh. I thought I'd taught you manners."

"Manners are for people that deserve respect. When I find someone who deserves it, they'll get it," she said smoothly. "You, on the other hand, are low, pathetic, unimaginative, and absolutely despicable."

Lucius straightened up, smiling calmly as if the words didn't affect him. Only the twins knew him well enough to see the fury seething beneath the cool exterior. "Obviously you are the dark half."

"Oh, you noticed," Ryua snorted. "So glad to see our Ministry is in such competent hands. Why don't you come a little closer, and I'll show you just how much darker I've become?"

"I think not." Lucius said smoothly. "Contrary to your biased opinion, I'm not that stupid."

"Why don't we both go to my office now, Lucius," Albus said firmly, stepping between the two of them. "I'm sure we have a lot to discuss."

Perhaps it was because he realized Ryua was getting angrier just having him in close proximity, or that her magic tended to grow with her emotions. Whatever the reason, Lucius acceded to Dumbledore, and left the room peacefully.

Author's Note: Oh… I don't like this chapter much. It was a filler, and I had a lot of stuff to fit in, and all of it very dry. Plus, it's been how many weeks since I updated? I apologize for the long wait. I'm back from school now though, and should be updating regularly again. Okay… the reason Severus is completely clueless about how to stick them back together is because I'm not much better off. I have _an _idea that _would_ work, but I'd welcome any suggestions…

Oh. And I have well over 20 times the page views as I do reviews per chapter. I don't mean to sound pushy, and I'm honestly not asking for a lot. But could people just leave me a quick one saying, 'hi' or something? I'm just curious about who's reading it.

Sigh And I just discovered that STILL messing up my paragraph breaks. Sorry. It's not too much of a problem, I hope.


	31. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Quidditch 

Ryua was recovered first from the visit to the hospital wing, and was put right back into class. Having her in the same room with Malfoy constantly was just asking for trouble. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were all charged with not letting her out of their sight, and keeping her from any wands or possible weapons of any sort.

Her marks were dropping steadily, as Ryua couldn't really be bothered with much. At least she was attending the classes though, so when Severus finally found a way to recombine her, she'd have some basic idea of what had been covered.

Malfoy recovered fully a week later, which gave Madam Pomfery some worry. "She shouldn't have taken this long. It was a serious trauma, but I healed most of it," she told Severus. "She shouldn't have been more than a day or two behind Ryua."

"Being apart from each other isn't a safe state," he said grimly. "They are two halves of the same person, not two separate people, however much they may act that way. If they stay this way much longer, she'll permanently lose stamina, magic, her life energies… I honestly don't know."

"So why doesn't Ryua seem affected?"

"That was spell damage," he said reluctantly. "She has more experience with spell damage than half the Order, and can recover faster than nearly anyone I know. If she becomes physically injured, I don't know how long it will take to heal."

"We'll have to keep them both safe, and as apart as possible. Can Malfoy go back to her dorm room now? I must confess I'm rather tired of guarding her all night long." Ryua hadn't been allowed back into the Common Room. Pansy, rightly so, was absolutely terrified about sleeping in the same room as her, so Ryua had been lodged in the Hospital Wing.

"Yes, I think that's best. And we'll move Ashley and Cassie in with them, to safeguard against Miss Parkinson trying anything." He sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples. "I fondly remember the days when all I worried about were classes, the occasional detention, and Death Eater conclaves…"

"I bet… and here's another stick to worry about. Your Quidditch team has been practicing, and the match is in two days. Are you going to allow either of them to play? Both are as physically fit as they're likely to be."

He blinked at her, bemused. "I hadn't even thought about it since Draco mentioned it last week. Damn. You say there's no reason either shouldn't play?"

"Not physically, no. Whether Malfoy will play such a physical, aggressive sport, or whether Ryua would cooperate with a team, is completely out of my control."

"I'll go discuss this with Draco. He's acting captain…" Severus strode quickly down to the Slytherin Common Room, very pleased to have something he could work with.

.oOo.

"I… we haven't been able to get anyone else on such short notice, sir," Draco said, worriedly. "We had a full lineup this year, and didn't hold trials."

"Madam Pomfery has given both of them a clean bill of health," Severus said, "Although Malfoy expressed strongly she didn't wish to play. I asked her on my way down."

"Well… I guess the aggressive half would be better anyway," Draco sighed. "But I don't know if I'd trust her in quite so cooperative of a position as point Chaser."

"Can you play Chaser?"

Draco looked at him, slightly surprised. "I… I suppose. I've been filling it in practice so the others can play, but I didn't really expect to fill it in the match…"

"Seeker is the most separate, and the least violent of the positions. If she could take your position, it should be prestigious enough she'll accept it, and hopefully play by the rules enough to win."

"I feel bloody guilty for poor Potter though," Draco said, laughing slightly. "He thought I was a bad rival…"

.oOo.

Malfoy was overjoyed to be let out of Quidditch, and turned all her free time onto making up the work Ryua had ignored. Pansy completely avoided both of them, and neither was without a constant escort of at least one person. Hagrid had postponed the Care of Magical Creatures class, on account of a delayed permit to import a chimera.

Saturday morning, Draco, followed by the rest of the Quidditch team, came up to the hospital wing to collect Ryua. Much to Madam Pomfery's relief, she'd behaved all night long, having something to channel her energies into. She met them at the door, looking very much like the old Ryua, her face full of honest excitement and competitiveness.

She'd eaten in the Hospital wing already, and didn't take long to change. By the time Luna Lovegood had finally gotten around to announcing the Slytherin team, she was bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet, her broom held possessively in one hand. Ryua vaguely heard the girl announce the line change, and dismissed it from her mind. She knew about that already and just wanted to get up in the air.

Harry looked slightly shocked to realize he was facing Ryua this time around, and maybe a little worried. Draco was still acting Captain until Ryua was back to herself, and even managed to shake Harry's hand without a grimace. Madam Hooch released the balls, waiting a moment before tossing the Quaffle and taking off on her own broom. Ryua shot forwards and up, blowing right past Harry, close enough she almost brushed him.

Cursing, he fought against the turbulence she'd created. All the commercially produced brooms had safeguards that made it difficult to pull off a close brush like that, and he hadn't been expecting it. He saw her looking gleefully down at him from very far up, and rocketed after her.

Ryua saw him pull up after her, and laughed at the indignation on his face. His flat out speed was better than hers, but her maneuverability easily matched them up. She simply dropped as he pulled level, and he shot past her at an incredible rate. Pulling level, she waved teasingly up at him, then shot abruptly to her left, weaving under and through the other players.

Harry took off after her, catching up a lot of lost air in the dive, and started to close on her. Crabbe sent a bludger his way, and he ducked it, wincing as he heard it connect solidly with his newest chaser. She was just tantalizingly ahead of him now, he was almost pulling level, when she very suddenly disappeared. He pulled up sharply, and then yelped at a sharp rap on his head.

Ryua was leaning lazily on her broom barely a foot above him, smirking down at him. She'd lightly knocked the back of his head with her left hand, and took off sideways as soon as she had his attention. She heard him coming up quickly on her left, and shot up through a group of chasers struggling over the Quaffle. With Harry momentarily entangled in the group, she had a moment free to search the pitch, and pick up a bit of commentary. "…teasing him. Smart really, if he's concentrating on her, he won't see a teeny little snitch…" Luna went off into a monologue about snidgets then, and Ryua stopped paying attention. The girl had hit squarely on her plan, and she'd prefer if Harry didn't realize it until after she'd found that silly little ball.

To keep him out of earshot, Ryua kept moving straight upwards, not too quickly, or he'd lose interest. Sure enough, Harry came blowing up from underneath, almost upsetting her from her broom. Ryua flipped over backwards to keep her balance, glaring smolderingly at him. As she'd expected, he seemed to glaze slightly as he caught her gaze, losing some more of his concentration.

Smiling brilliantly, she dove for one of the towers, drawing him behind her like a dog on a leash. She wove through the supports under it, doubling back while he was still inside it, scanning the pitch briefly. A flash of gold appeared for a moment, under Cassie, and Ryua sped forward and up, aiming slightly to the left. Her broom was pulling slightly that way from the wind, and she knew the Snitch's spells worked with the breezes, not against them. Harry, finally coming out from the framework, caught the same wink of gold and tore after it, head on.

He was maybe a foot or two to her right, and finally fully concentrating on the game. Ryua grinned though, knowing her work was done. The snitch swerved with the odd little eddy she'd passed in the same spot earlier, straight into her more dexterous left hand.

Harry's face was full of a disbelief that Ryua found downright comical. It was the first time he'd been beaten in a fair match, and it was obvious he didn't much like the feeling. She didn't have any chance to preen though, because she was pelted by six ecstatic players in green.

Draco, although not a horrendous player, hadn't been nearly as good as Ryua had been in the formations, and they'd been down 40 points when she ended the game. Goyle's nose had been broken at one point, after which Crabbe thoroughly flattened the little Gryffindor beater that sent the bludger. There were some minor scrapes and bruises around the team, but nothing would have pulled them down at that point.

"We beat Gryffindor!" Cassie shrieked, bouncing happily, shaking Crabbe's shoulder enthusiastically. He grinned wildly, shaking her back. Cassie whipped back and forth, laughing gleefully. Ashley had firmly glomped onto Draco, her arms around his neck. It was a very, very happy group that descended to be swarmed by the rest of their house.

Author's Note: Not really long, I know, but it is actually a chapter! And not three months since the last one! Thanks for everyone's suggestions! All your support really makes it easier for me to write this, thank you so much!


	32. Malfoy

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Malfoy

That night, the entire Slytherin house had a very loud, very happy party. Even Ryua was allowed to attend, although Professor Card was stationed carefully in the corner of the Common Room. Ashley and Draco kept trying to sneak off for a while, but were always caught by catcalling students teasing them mercilessly.

Even Card was enjoying himself a little. He wasn't that much older than the students, as teachers went, and could still almost feel a part of the group. He did keep himself carefully separate, of course, but didn't let the assignment turn into a total bore.

Malfoy had politely turned down the unspoken invitation, and had spent most of the evening sitting in the Library. And after Madam Pomfery kicked her out, she wandered slowly through the halls, aiming for the kitchens. She had no real wish to go to bed now, not with the Common Room full of loud, rowdy people.

The elves gave her a happy welcome, settling her at a tiny little table, with a mug of spiced pumpkin juice and a plate of extra deserts. She sat there, not really watching the time, just relaxing, occasionally working on a Transfiguration essay. She didn't even notice she wasn't alone until a distinctively scarred hand reached out and helped itself to the last pastry. "Not celebrating?" Harry asked, biting into it.

"No…" she said, shaking her head. "I don't really like parties."

"Too loud for you, eh?"

"Yeah," she said, her cheeks acquiring the slightest tinge of pink. "What are you doing down here?"

"Same thing as you," he said, shrugging. "Well, more or less. I couldn't stand to look at my House anymore…"

Malfoy winced. "Sorry," she whispered.

He reached out a hand out of reflex, placing it lightly on her forearm. "It's not your fault. And losses happen in Quidditch anyway. At least I'm in one piece this time."

"I guess," she said softly, smiling shyly at him. She'd really missed having him close to her since the split, and even the light, platonic touch of his hand made her stomach churn unexpectedly.

"Really. I'm not mad at you. Either of you, for that matter," he said ruefully. "It's about time I got beaten, I was starting to get a swelled head."

"You? No…" she said, shaking her head. "You wouldn't do that."

"Oh, sure I would," he said, grinning. "Runs in the family. But anyway… we're done eating now. Dobby might like us, but the other elves mostly feel we're in the way."

"I don't really want to go back to my Common Room yet," she said uncomfortably. "And Filch would just give me detention if he caught me wandering around."

"So wander with me," he said cheerfully, pulling his invisibility cloak out of a pocket. "He hasn't managed to catch anyone wearing this cloak yet."

She got another little lurch in her stomach, but stood up when he did, smiling shyly. Harry grinned back, stepping towards her and settling the cloak over them with practiced ease. It was warm underneath the cloak, warm and close, and the comforting scent of Harry surrounded her. She started feeling relaxed for the first time since the split.

They just wandered for what could have been a minute, or an hour, not saying much, just enjoying each other's company. For Malfoy, it was a much-needed rest, an unexpected chance to feel safe and not pressured. And for Harry, he'd very much missed spending time with her, any sort of time. Ryua frankly scared him, and Malfoy had been avoiding everyone until now. He'd gotten used to her company over the summer, and had really hated being forced away from her.

Mrs. Norris sniffed at the hallway suspiciously when they passed, and they quickly darted up a set of stairs and around a corner. To avoid anyone else, Harry would usually take a secret passage, but Filch used them more than the main halls. It would be rather pathetic to run headlong into the person you were trying to avoid…

Malfoy stifled a giggle, leaning against the wall. They'd ducked into a funny little corner, just to avoid the possibility of being run over. Harry looked down at her, smiling, and lost himself in her. She was completely happy, having fun and being safe, and with someone she trusted. The look on her face was something he'd only seen once or twice, before summer. It was entirely unshadowed joy, her eyes bright and clear, her mouth relaxed and curved softly upward.

She blinked, suddenly aware he hadn't moved in a rather long time. "Harry, what is it?" she asked, blushing slightly. She could see where his gaze was.

"You… you look so happy. You're beautiful when you're happy."

She went a little pinker, giggling shyly. "Well… thank you."

Harry had promised himself he would stay away from both of them until they'd figured out a way to recombine them. He knew it was a good idea, knew that it would be dangerous to either her or him if he tried to get too close. But standing there, hidden from the rest of the world, he found his arms reaching out of their own accord, pulling her softly against him.

She fell unresistingly against him, her head turning sideways and leaning her cheek on his shoulder. Harry's left hand gently slid under her chin, tilting her face up to his, and he very lightly kissed her, aching to touch her, hold her close to him.

Malfoy let him kiss her, unresisting. Her body trembled slightly against his. It took Harry a few moments before he pulled back. "Ryua, what's wrong?"

She gasped, surprised a little by the use of her first name. She'd been just Malfoy, a temporary, impersonal label for a long time now. "N… nothing," she whispered, her eyes searching his face worriedly. "Why?"

"You just seem kind of… distant," he said, holding her a little distance away, looking at her. "If you don't want…"

"No!" she said hurriedly. "No, I like it, I'm sorry…"

"Shh…" he whispered, lightly placing a finger on her lips. "Don't worry about it. I just didn't want to force you into anything."

"Oh, you couldn't force me, Harry," she said earnestly, sounding somehow innocent in her assurance. "I like you…" She pressed herself against him to prove her point, shyly, almost clumsily kissing him.

It vaguely bothered him that she was so eager and inept, but her scent, and the feel of her pressing against him overwhelmed Harry's mind, obliterating any protests his mind might have made. His arms tightened around her again, and he leaned back on the wall, pulling her against him.

Malfoy shivered slightly, not really knowing what to expect. He wasn't forcing her anywhere, or telling her to do something, or tying her down, or anything. Although, he had made a comment about her seeming distant. Maybe that was a hint, that she wasn't doing enough?

Harry was finally feeling her start to relax, her hands coming off his shoulders at last, and then jumped, gasping at where one of them ended up. "Ryua! What are you doing?"

"You said I wasn't responding right," she said, her large innocent eyes at odds with her hand stroking gently down between his legs.

"Bloody hell," he gasped, more glad than ever that he was leaning against a wall. "I didn't mean… That's not what I meant."

"But… you like it…" she said uncertainly. He was obviously enjoying it, she could tell that easily. So why was he protesting?

"No! No… no, I mean yes… I mean… oh hell…"

"See? Nothing to worry about," Malfoy said, increasing her pressure slowly.

"No, stop… Stop, Ryua!" Harry yelped, grabbing both of her hands firmly and pulling them out to the side.

She looked up at him, hurt. "Why?" she asked, her voice soft and injured.

"Because… because it's not right. You're not yourself and…"

"But I like you," she said softly, pressing against him. "I want to make you feel good. I don't mind doing it. I can do a lot more if you want."

It took a fair while for Harry to come up with a good response to that. How was he supposed to be all good and impersonal with an offer like that? "I… oh, Ryua," he groaned, dropping his head onto her shoulder. "It's not that I don't… don't like it, or want it, it's just not fair to you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her lips brushing his ear. "I said I don't mind."

"Well, yeah… I know you did, but… no! No, I should take you back to your common room."

"Oh," she said softly. "Well, if you don't want me to touch you, that's okay."

"Bloody hell, Ryua," he said, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant at all. It just… you don't seem like you're enjoying this. I know you say you don't mind," he put a finger on her lips to halt her protests. "But you don't like it either."

"I'm not supposed to like it, you are," she said, pulling his hand off her mouth.

Harry looked at her disbelievingly. "What are you talking about? Of course you're supposed to like it. Damn, I thought this was hard before…" Back when he'd found out Ryua had a phobia of being touched, he'd been horrified, and done everything he could to get her over it. And now it was like that again, only worse, as she didn't even know it was _supposed_ to feel good.

"Before? Harry, what do you mean before?"

"Never mind," he said, releasing her other hand and bringing both of his arms around her waist, holding her softly against him. There was a part of his mind calmly explaining this was a terrible idea, that he'd promised not to get involved with her in this condition. Much louder though, was the part of him that urged it was just wrong for her to feel, or rather not feel, that way. Very gently, he held her face in his hands, leaning forward to kiss her, lightly and as unthreatening as he could manage.

Malfoy was feeling a little confused. She'd spent all of her sexual life learning how to make the men around her happy, and now here was the one she actually liked refusing to let her do it. And why wasn't he being more forceful? They all liked to dominate her, she knew that.

Harry sensed that kissing her wasn't going to work, with her past. She'd been forced too much, her mouth probably didn't even recognize any pleasant sensations anymore. He shifted to her neck, softly kissing her skin, losing himself in her familiar scent, of night and books and the subtle hint of magic.

She gasped. Some of them had bitten her before, or sucked her skin until it bruised and ached. But nobody had ever been so gentle and soft, making her spine tingle. She could feel his warm breath on her neck, and the change in his lips when he smiled.

He traced light kisses down her neck, and paused on her collarbone, thinking. Instead of continuing down, he gently turned her head to one side, brushing her hair away from her ear, leaning forward to kiss the lobe.

Malfoy gasped; she'd never expected him to do that. And certainly never expected it to feel that good. She'd known her ears were sensitive, but didn't make the connection that it could be a good thing.

Smiling at the reaction he got, Harry kissed all the way along the outer curve of her ear, then traced his tongue back along the inside of it. He chuckled inwardly at the way her hands tightened on his arms, pulling him tight against her. "I take it you like that?" he whispered.

"Oh… yes…" she moaned quietly, trembling slightly.

"Good," he replied, licking along the back of her ear, then sucking gently on her lobe, teasing it with his tongue. He kept having to remind himself not to bite her, not sure how she'd take that.

She whimpered slightly, her hands running erratically over his back and shoulders, trying to push him still closer. He chuckled, and decided he could maybe move a little further now. His hand slipped slowly up the back of her shirt, lightly rubbing over her soft, unfamiliarly smooth skin. With a start, the sensible part of his brain jolted back into control, and he reluctantly withdrew both his lips and hand. "I really should take you to bed," he whispered, his lips against her neck.

"Really?" she asked, "That was a quick change of heart."

"What? Oh, no… no not that." He said, not without a twinge of regret. "I meant take you to your Common room and go to bed myself. In my own dorm."

"But…"

He chuckled, kissing her softly on the lips again, silencing her. "They're gone. I heard Card marching your other half up to the hospital wing about 5 minutes ago."

"Oh…" she said, sounding a little disappointed. "Okay then."

Harry smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders and walking the rest of the way down to the dungeons. "Here you go. Goodnight, Ryua," he said, kissing her again, not nearly as deeply as he'd have really liked, and left before he did something he'd really regret.

Author's Note: Wow. I'm really sorry this took so long. I almost had to scrap the whole chapter and start over again, but I really wanted this scene. Thanks for being patient!


	33. Ideas

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Wow, lots of people liked the last chapter, thanks for all your responses! It gives me inspiration… or at least guilts me into writing. So please keep it up, it's for your own good as well as mine!

Ideas

Severus finally came up with a solution three days later. It was really pretty simple, a magical object that was split would always try and move back together, to become stable. It was only the two halves hating each other so much that kept them apart now. If he were to start the combining process, they wouldn't be able to keep them apart. And merging their magics would be the easiest part to combine. Barely registering it was only four in the morning, Severus almost flew up to Dumbledore's office, ecstatic to have a way to solve the dilemma.

The headmaster looked rather bleary when he opened the door, but woke up quickly when he saw the look on Severus' face. Dumbledore dropped any grumpiness immediately, although he did have Dobby deliver a cup of strong coffee to his office. "You're sure this will work?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure," he said, running a hand through tangled hair. "That last spell was the only thing I was waiting on. I can do it today, if you want. I've got first-years in the morning, and third in the afternoon, those are easily traded off to someone else."

"Are you sure you're up to it today? That's a complicated combination of very powerful spells you're talking about. Perhaps you should wait until the weekend…"

"No!" Severus snapped, glaring at him. Gaining control of himself, he said, "I apologize, Headmaster, but this really shouldn't wait. The longer Ryua remains this way, the harder it will be to mesh her two halves together again."

Dumbledore looked gravely at him, then nodded. "Very well. Is there anything you require? Someone else to handle some of the load?"

"Please don't take offense, but no," he said. "It's complicated enough as it is. I'm the only one who knows Sectumsempra well enough, and one of the few who can harness their magic into one well to use on the spell. I don't want to make the situation worse by confusing directions up. I just need a very well-sealed room and both of them, neither with a wand."

.oOo.

It didn't take long for the two halves to be roused and shoved firmly into the Room of Requirements after Severus. Attempting it while they were still sleep-fogged was an added notion of Dumbledore's, and Severus just prayed that Ryua was actually as groggy as she appeared. It was roughly 10 minutes after he'd come to the office. Once Dumbledore decided on something, he didn't wait for much.

Severus sealed the room, instructing it to open only for him or Dumbledore on the outside. The walls were sound-proof, jinx-proof, curse-proof, and any other kind of proof that he needed them to be, the walls and floor soft and cushioning of a very powerful impact. Just in case something went wrong. There was no furniture to get in the way, and he'd left his wand outside, not wanting Ryua to get a hold of it accidentally.

Malfoy was still yawning, rubbing her eyes, and Ryua was looking rather bleary, although Severus didn't believe her for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he started to hum an incantation in the back of his throat, an altered version of the Sectumsempra healing melody. It should work to heal the split between them as well as it did on torn flesh.

Neither girl seemed to change outwardly, so he opened his hands, moving them as casually as he could in a power-gathering weave. He very cautiously started to pull their magics in to meld them together. The longer he could keep Ryua oblivious, or at least uncertain, the better chance he had of pulling this off. He'd almost done gathering the power he'd needed when he noticed a sudden flicker in her eyes, although she made no outward movement.

Mentally cursing, although he didn't allow himself the concentration to worry, Severus flashed with almost dizzying quickness through the last stages and mixed his own magic in to stabilize it. His free time was up, and now he had to be quick and careful. Ryua reached out with wandless magic to choke him, but he felt only the faintest pressure on his throat before the room gently, effectively nullified her remaining magic.

"I told you I didn't want to be combined with her," she spat furiously. "Stop trying, or I swear I'll make you regret it."

Severus didn't respond, but fed the entire mess of magic into the still-present but weakening bond between them, forcing the channel back open and removing resistance from the spells and the time spent apart. Both girls screamed, the identical voices sounding chillingly different, one full of fear and pain, the other with an anger that made him shiver deep inside.

He looked up, hoping and praying to any gods that might care to listen that it was going to keep working. They were drawing inexorably closer to each other, and with a brilliant flash that was more of magic than light, the familiar, whole Ryua Malfoy was kneeling on the cushioned floor.

She looked up at him, an odd expression on her face. "I… I don't think I feel well, Professor," she gasped, her face going paler and more strained. Another dazzling flash of magic, and both halves were flung violently across the room.

Severus scrambled almost drunkenly to his feet. He hadn't really realized how much of his magic he'd poured into that net, and his body was making him pay for it dearly. Ryua also lurched to her feet, but her fury gave the lunge a direction. She barreled into him, Malfoy staying in a miserable ball on the floor where she'd fallen.

Awkwardly, he backpedaled, trying to avoid her, but ended up crashing into the very thankfully padded wall "You bastard!" he heard her shrill. "How dare you do that to me? I said I didn't want to be melded with that… that… female!"

Severus slid out from under her, lunging for the door, but didn't make it before he was knocked sideways. Just because the room was cushioned didn't mean Ryua was, and he yelled as her sharp elbow smashed into his ribs. He rolled over, catching a quick glimpse of her face as he kept moving, and cursed. She was completely into her fury now, and nearly as dangerous as if she'd had a wand.

Wincing from the bruised ribs, he forced himself up to his knees. Hoping that she'd understand later, he caught Ryua in her next attack, bringing his fist up under her chin. She reeled backward, shaking her head furiously to dispel the disorientation, and he scrambled for the door. "Albus!" he yelled, shoving the door open.

Dumbledore was standing ready on the other side, and spelled Ryua down with one of Madam Pomfery's tranquilizing charms. "I take it it didn't work?" he said grimly, advancing quickly to make sure she was actually out.

"It did," he groaned, standing carefully up. "That's the worst part. She was whole again… but I underestimated how very much she didn't want to be combined. They split apart."

"Well… that's something I hadn't expected," Dumbledore said, thinking. He carefully levitated Ryua, then walked over to Malfoy. "Come on. Up you get now," he said, his voice soft and kind.

"Why'd you do that," she sobbed, still not moving. "I didn't want it, I said I didn't want it…"

"I know," he said soothingly, lightly touching her shoulder. She tried to flinch away, but he kept the contact. "But it's done with now, and we have to get you to the hospital wing. Come on…"

She pushed up on her hands, glaring at him with a truly incredible amount of hate in her glittering eyes. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and she shook his hand off, standing unsteadily. "I thought you'd be the one on my side. I thought you cared what I wanted," she said bitterly. "But you don't. You're like everyone else, you only care about what makes you happy."

Dumbledore straightened up, a fleeting expression of hurt crossing his face before he schooled his expression into one of calmness. "Then you shouldn't try and refuse me, if that's what you believe. Let's go."

Her lip trembled slightly, but she bit it before it was apparent. Not looking at him, Severus, or her other half floating motionless in the air, she walked slowly towards the hospital wing. Staying silent, except for the occasional pained gasp from Severus, the group moved up through the castle, glad that no one was awake yet to ask what had happened.

.oOo.

Severus sighed. It was three minutes left to class and the fifth year Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions class was one of his least favourites. Not only did he have to teach all the stupid, irritating idiots who shouldn't be anywhere near a cauldron, but Cassie Darkwind was in this class.

She was a charming girl. Sweet, enthusiastic, and quite likeable. Except that she never stopped being sweet, enthusiastic, and likeable. Severus always dreaded the class, as Cassie was alternately an instigator or an object of some sort of trouble. If she wasn't pulling some wild prank, or challenging him on obscure Potion alternatives, half the male population of the class was trying to get her attention.

He was still sore in the ribs and knuckles from his fight that morning with his favourite student. His magic was drained, leaving him feeling tired and empty. And frustrated, because his plan should have worked, and it didn't.

And to top it all off, Sprout was late again with his Vervian. He rubbed the bridge of his prominent nose, fighting off a headache. A few students had already filed in, Creevy from Gryffindor, and Max and Cassie from his own house. Finally, he heard the shuffling steps of someone carrying a large load of something, and stood up to help Sprout with his freshly-picked plants. It wasn't until he'd set the load down that he realized who was behind the pile. "Longbottom, what are you doing?"

To his credit, the Gryffindor appeared to be garnering more strength of character. Although he went a little pale, he kept his gaze steady, and said, barely stuttering at all, "I… I'm apprenticing to Professor Sprout, sir, I'm helping out in the greenhouses. And on deliveries."

"Fine. It is no matter to me," Severus glowered, turning back to inspect his vervian. If the clumsy boy had crushed any leaves… but Longbottom's ineptitude in everything else was made up by his green thumb. He stepped back from the pile, neither approval or disapproval in his expression, and turned to dismiss Longbottom.

The rest of his class had filed in, and much to his disgust, the boy had started talking to Cassie. He strode darkly over to upbraid him.

"So, the pegajosos arrived yesterday," Neville was saying animatedly, waving his hands around. "They're a really good batch, Professor Sprout is so happy…"

"Mr. Longbottom," Severus interrupted, almost gleefully. "I have a class to teach. For your disruption, twenty points from… did you say pegajoso?"

"Sir?" Neville squeaked, having spun around immediately at his first words.

"Pegajoso. As in Hoja Pegajoso?" Severus asked, his voice intense.

"Um… I think so… I mean yes, yes sir," Neville said, his voice oddly high-pitched. He'd faced down Death Eaters and countless terrifying creatures in his life, but Snape still scared the living daylights out of him.

"Sticky leaf…" he whispered, his face paler than usual, "And are they fully mature?"

"Erm… Professor Sprout said they'd probably need until the first snow… the frost does something to the sap…"

"Even so… Twenty points for Gryffindor, and go tell Sprout I need as many of them as she'll let me have, as soon as they're ready." Neville looked about ready to faint, but ran head over heels for the door. "And get Dumbledore down here!" he bellowed after him.

The class was all looking at him, completely silent. Severus glared at them, then waved his hand. "We're working on page 346 today," he said, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They weren't about to test his uncharacteristic nice mood any farther, and all turned quickly to the right potion.

Dumbledore made an appearance halfway through the class, and Severus explained in quick, whispered words what he intended. Dumbledore looked less than convinced. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"They need to be bound together," he said simply. "At least the plant is a mild agent, without any characteristics than the adhesive quality."

"That's still introducing a second life form directly into her. Maybe right into her DNA. There's no telling what the consequences would be!"

"Do we have a choice, Albus?" he hissed. "If they stay like this, she'll die. Either at her own hands, or if she lives long enough, from simple instability."

"Fine," he said, licking thin, dry lips. "But take all possible precautions. And when did you say you could try this again?"

"At the first frost, probably the end of the month." Severus sighed. "Not soon enough, in my opinion, but I don't want to put them through the shock of an incomplete procedure again."

"I'll try to come up with something else by then," Dumbledore mused. "But as much as I hate the idea, I think you may be right. We're running out of time. And neither one is going to cooperate with us again."

Author's Note: So pretty please, leave me a review!


	34. Mixing

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Mixing

It was shaping up to be a decidedly warm month, and Severus was getting more antsy by the day. October had stayed completely above freezing levels, and half of November had slipped away without even a hint of frost. At this point, he was considering going out and freezing the greenhouses himself, but knew the magic would interfere with the plants' effects.

Malfoy had kept her marks up to a respectable level, and Ryua was eagerly drinking up everything Severus or Card could teach her in class. Of course, when they weren't so occupied, Malfoy was hiding in her dorm, and Ryua was off wreaking havoc. For once in his life, Severus found himself wishing that Fred and George Weasley were still at Hogwarts, so he could at least have her tailed.

He was flatly beginning to worry about them both. Malfoy was becoming quieter all the time, only coming out for classes and meals, always seeming lethargic. And Ryua's already short fuse was getting shorter. Dumbledore still had her wand in his own office, and kept a light magic restriction spell on her at all times. She was losing what little control she had to begin with, her magic given to flaring whenever her emotions sprung out.

Severus had run over his spells almost constantly, wanting it all to go exactly perfectly. He couldn't afford another mistake. Ryua probably couldn't survive another mistake. But she couldn't survive being like this much longer either. All they needed now was for the outdoor gardens to freeze…

.oOo.

Ryua had actually been going to her classes, at least the ones she'd agreed to take. Well, two out of three. Neither she nor Malfoy would go anywhere near Severus anymore, so Potions had fallen out of their curriculum. Neville was actually holding up to her better than anyone expected in Care of Magical Creatures, although it was obvious he'd be very happy when she was finally back to normal.

In fact, the only teacher who seemed to be unaffected by her split was the newest one. Card just kept teaching as if nothing had happened, and didn't treat her any differently than any other student. Naturally, this both made Ryua furious and intrigued her.

So, one Thursday late in November, she stayed behind after class as everyone else filed out for lunch. Ryua left her books at the desk, walking forward to Card's desk, where he was sitting casually, paying no attention to the rest of the classroom. She looked back over her shoulder, checking that the last of the students had filed out, and waved her hand. The door swung closed, locking silently behind Lavender Brown.

Ryua placed her hands on the table edge, leaning down to his level. "Card?" she asked, tilting her head. "You busy?"

He looked up from playing with a bit of crystal he'd been using for a prop in his lesson about refining spell energies. "Not particularly. Did you have a question or something?"

"Sort of," she said, jumping up and sitting on the edge of his desk, leaning forward. "Don't you get bored, doing this babysitting job for Dumbledore? Or lonely?"

She saw him swallow, and carefully hid a grin. "Not really, no. If there's nothing else?" he said, not meeting her eyes.

Ryua swung down off his desk, walking slowly around it, her slender hips swaying with every step. She knew he was watching her, although he might try to pretend he wasn't. She stopped right beside his chair, letting her closeness work on his nerves.

His breathing quickened slightly despite his best efforts. She placed a light hand on the back of his chair, sliding it slowly towards his shoulder. Card tried to ignore it, but couldn't quite bring himself to move away from her.

Ryua's hand brushed his shoulder, and she pushed his chair out slightly, turning it towards her a little. She leaned down, so her face was just inches away from his, and her fingers came up to his chin, forcing his head up. Her hand slid back into his hair, pulling him towards her, her lips pressing hard against his in a deep, demanding kiss.

Card froze in his chair, taken aback at how suddenly this had happened. And then his mind was completely swallowed up by his body, and he reached up, pulling her down into his lap.

A thrill of achievement rushed through Ryua's body, tinged with lust. Card was hot, there was no denying that, and he was good. The moment he started to respond to her, she could tell he wasn't any innocent schoolboy. His tongue delved expertly into her mouth, fighting with hers for dominance, his hands making quick work of the buttons on her blouse.

He pushed her back roughly against his desk, breaking from the kiss to work his way down her neck, nipping lightly at her skin, his hands holding her arms down. She arched her back, the edge of the desk cutting into her hips, the pain a sharp, enhancing counterpoint to the very, very good sensations moving down her neck.

Card stood up, sliding her farther back so she was lying on the desk, his hand sliding up her thigh. He bit sharply at her breast, his tongue darting out to soothe the dents left by his teeth. Ryua's hand shot out to steady herself, knocking over a pile of essays sitting innocently on the corner of his desk.

_Essays… marking… Teacher! I'm a teacher! _With a gasp, Card withdrew from her, pulling his wand and stunning her before she got a chance to respond. He collapsed back into his chair, cursing under his breath. Oh, he wanted her. It had been hell, cooped up in this building with so many young women he wasn't allowed to touch. And now he'd have to admit to Dumbledore that he'd lost control. With one of his own charges, no less, and the one he knew he had to watch carefully. _Shit._

Flicking his wand, the essays flew back into a neat pile, and her clothes neatened themselves again. At least he hadn't left marks anywhere visible…

Five minutes later, he stormed very ill-tempered into the Hospital wing, depositing Ryua on a bed. "Poppy! Here. I'm going to see Dumbledore." She came running out, furiously questioning him, but Card had already turned on his heel and strode out. She sighed, shaking her head, and just turned to see what kind of trouble she'd gotten herself into this time.

_Thank the gods for small favours…_ Dumbledore was alone in his office. He looked up curiously as Card entered, setting aside a book of some kind and enquiring, "Ah, Professor Greenbay. What can I do for you?"

Card winced inwardly at his choice of address. "You could find some way to fix Ryua Malfoy before she gets into worse trouble."

"Oh?" Dumbledore said, leaning back and steepling his fingers. "Why don't you have a seat and tell me about it?"

He did sit, although he obviously wasn't happy about it. Taking a breath, he spelled out what he'd almost done, fairly, plainly, without trying to hide anything. At the end of it, Dumbledore stood, moving to the window. "I won't chastise you for this. Ryua is a difficult woman to refuse anything to at the best of times, let alone the way she behaves now. Although… it will be up to you to make amends when she is restored to herself."

"Quite frankly, Dumbledore, I'd rather you set me just about any other task."

"I know. But this is the one that needs doing, hmm?"

Card rolled his eyes, turning sharply and leaving. "Fine," he snapped on his way out. It could have gone worse, he supposed. No matter how bad it seemed, it could _always_ be worse.

.oOo.

It froze the next night. Not a heavy frost, but enough to rim the Pegajoso plants in a thin coating of white. They'd simply left Ryua unconscious after Card stunned her, as it seemed the safest course of action. Malfoy came unwillingly, but easily managed by a sleepily excited Ashley. Severus had cancelled his classes for the entire day, it being Friday morning. He didn't want to wait any longer than necessary.

Being the end of November, it was dark at 6 in the morning. They were in the Room of Requirements again, although now Severus wasn't alone. Dumbledore and Ashley had refused to let him attempt it alone, and he wasn't about to argue with either of them. Well, not with Dumbledore. He'd tried to make Ashley wait outside where it was safe, but she was having none of it.

Professor Sprout arrived with a Pegajoso plant, carefully harvested intact, its roots clean of dirt and the leaves still sparkling with frost. "You're sure about this, Severus? Plants don't always mix well with the Animal kingdom, you know."

"I want something that doesn't require magic to hold its properties in place," he explained, for what seemed like the thousandth time. "There's already too much magic at work here. The plant is simple, non-reactive, and most importantly, sticky. If there's a better solution, I certainly don't know what it is. And I'm out of time to find one."

She looked disapproving, but withdrew from the room, knowing that she'd be no additional help to them now. Sighing, Severus turned to face the two halves, Ryua still unconscious and propped up against Dumbledore, Ashley holding a silently weeping Malfoy firmly by the arm. He took a deep breath, and started to work through his spells.

He felt calmer as he sunk into the light trance required by the Sectumsempra healing song, feeling Ryua's magic starting to pool into one well under his control. Dumbledore's low hum and Ashley's light tenor added into the mix, adding their own magics and saving him from another exhausting drain. As the pooling reached its peak, Dumbledore lifted the spell on Ryua, and she came awake furious, but bound now by the magic and the strengthening ties to herself.

A twist of the combined energies in the almost visible well of magic pulled Ryua sharply together, and an added jolt drained the life energy of the plant, its inherent adhesive qualities binding them, adding strength to the join. Still tied into the raw magic as he was, he could feel the two halves struggling against each other, but holding fast. He didn't breathe for what seemed like an hour, waiting and hoping for the energies to stabilize…

With a painful gasp, Ryua collapsed to the floor, whole, and single. She was unconscious, which was probably a blessing, but her magic, mind, and soul were subsiding into normal levels. Severus sat down onto the chair that just happened to exist behind him, utterly exhausted. "I love this Room," he sighed.

Dumbledore chuckled, coming over to check that it was just tiredness. "It is quite love-worthy at times," he said. "Now, let's get you both up to Poppy, shall we?" Ashley had just stood up, holding Ryua. They'd all decided to be paranoid about using magic on Ryua yet, so she was physically carrying her.

Madam Pomfery almost wept with relief when she saw that there was only one Ryua being deposited on a sickbed. She checked Severus, Ashley, and Dumbledore over briefly to make sure they weren't dangerously drained, then sent them all away to get a good meal and a nap. She then proceeded to carefully inspect every inch of Ryua to make sure she was really alright.

Author's Note: Whee! It's done! She's back! Sorry if it seems a little dislocated or rushed or confused or something. I just wanted it OVER with. Thanks for your patience!


	35. Reconciliation

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Reconciliations

Ryua woke up off and on over the next week, although she didn't have much energy to do much more than eat voraciously and fall back asleep. There was always someone there, her various friends dropping in during free classes and lunch hours and evenings, and Madam Pomfery watching closely when they were all tied up with school. Draco had moved temporarily into the Hospital Wing, and Pomfery wasn't about to argue with him. Goodness knows he'd been through enough to be paranoid about his sister.

On the next Saturday, Ryua was finally able to sit up and talk for a good length of time. She sipped constantly at a sweet, nutrient-stuffed juice she'd been given by Madam Pomfery, and talked quietly with Draco. He was probably the most neutral party she could deal with, Pomfery had decided, as she hadn't tried to kill, seduce, or seriously insult him. Unlike nearly everyone else she knew.

Ron and Ginny had come in for a few heated arguments about being Blood Traitors, and Granger had been in tears at least once. Dean Thomas had nearly gotten into a fistfight with the nastier Ryua for the same reason, being taunted about his Muggle heritage. Poor Potter was terrified of the dark half, and ashamed of what he'd done with the lighter, Card was even worse off than him. Her peers in Slytherin were both horrified and scared of what she'd done to her weaker half, and Dumbledore was at the Ministry, trying to stall Lucius' inevitable visit. This left Draco.

He was extremely relieved to have her back to normal. The constant headache he'd had for the past month was gone, and he was sleeping easily too. As a result, he looked almost exactly like he did before the incident, not nearly as drawn and tired as he'd been before.

It wasn't long before she started to stifle yawns though, and Madam Pomfery was there almost immediately to make Draco leave her alone. "She's not going anywhere, Draco. Let her get some rest. You could do with some as well," she hinted, glancing pointedly at his bed. He repressed an urge to roll his eyes, but got up off the foot of Ryua's bed and went quietly to his own.

The next day, she was deemed well enough to have Severus, Ashley, and Cassie come to visit. The rest of the Quidditch team included themselves in the visit, much to Madam Pomfery's vexation. Ryua was giddily happy to have them there though, and as long as she stayed in bed, they were allowed to stay. Crabbe and Goyle, in an unusually kindly gesture, had raided the kitchens, bringing up an enormous basket of fruit pastries. They'd tried for a few bottles of firewhisky or butterbeer too, but Severus had made them take it back.

She had another rest at noon, after which, Ron and Ginny were allowed to come in. The staff had decided to work their way up through the most uncomfortable visitors, and these were the first two she'd actually hurt in some way. "So… ah, hi," she said, softly.

"Hey," Ron said, pulling up a chair, and Ginny perched herself on the end of her bed. They were rather used to visiting people in the hospital wing by now, thanks to Harry. "Looks like you're feeling more like yourself, eh?"

"Yeah," Ryua said, grinning ruefully. "Listen, I'm sorry I called your family a bunch of…"

"Blood traitors?" Ginny supplied. "Don't worry about it. We are. And proud of it, if the alternative is to be like your family. No offense…"

"None taken," Ryua said, relaxing. "I've always liked your family better, you know that."

"Well, Mum'd be thrilled if you married in," Ron said, rolling his eyes, then looking panicked. "Not that I'm trying to… I mean, not with me…"

Ryua grinned, her eyes twinkling. "Oh, but Ronnie…" she teased, blinking sadly at him. "I thought you _loved_ me…"

"Hell no! I mean… It's not that I don't… oh hell…" Ron tailed off, utterly confused, and his face as red as his hair. Ginny and Ryua laughed at him, and eventually, he started to laugh with them.

.oOo.

Dumbledore sent a private message to Madam Pomfery by way of Patronus charm, warning her that Lucius would be there by noon on Monday. Much irritated, because she thought Ryua deserved a lot longer than that to recover, she decided to get the rest of the visits over as quickly as possible.

.oOo.

Dean Thomas was sent to pull Hermione out of Ancient Runes, and she really only complained a little. Ryua didn't even bother trying to greet them normally. "Oh, Mione… I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve any of that! Or you… Dean." It felt odd to call him by his first name, but it seemed rather impersonal to apologize with someone's last name.

"Oh, it's alright, really," Hermione said, although she still looked a little hurt. "It's not like it was anything new." Dean nodded agreement.

"Still, though. I'm supposed to be your friend, not some superior Pureblood." Ryua said, wincing at the hurt she saw in her friend. "Really, I am sorry."

"I know," Dean said quietly. "And quite frankly, you're the first to even bother trying to apologize for it."

"Well… I'm sorry I'm the first," she sighed. "Neither of you deserve any of that."

Hermione shrugged, starting to get a little calmer now. "It's not really like it's your fault anyway. I mean, it wasn't really you…"

"Oh, but you see, it was me," Ryua said disgustedly. "That's the worst part about all of this. There's a part of me that enjoys doing all of the things I did. Every single thing I did, a part of me wants to do again… the hardest part is that both halves of me hate what the other's done."

"And that's what makes you better than either half," Hermione said quickly, not wanting her to fall in to that sort of thinking. "So cheer up. I'm really not mad at you, okay?" Behind her, Dean nodded silent agreement, obviously wanting to go do something less uncomfortable.

"Alright, alright…" Ryua said, still not totally convinced, but glad that at least she'd made up with the two of them.

.oOo.

Severus was the next person to visit. He brought some sweet berry tarts with him, which Ryua devoured eagerly. She was incredibly hungry, partially from stress, mostly because she had depleted her energy stores being stuck back together. "So… um… Severus, sorry I tried to kill you…" she said bluntly, licking the last of the crumbs off her fingers.

"I expected it," he said, waving a hand.

"Oh, thanks," she said sarcastically.

He looked at her, surprised she could even start to joke, and smiled faintly. "Well, I really was. The last thing you wanted was to be combined, it's my own fault for not paying enough attention."

And that was the last of her easy conversations.

.oOo.

"Which do you want first?" Madam Pomfery asked, after another hour-long nap.

Ryua groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Uhhhh… I don't want to talk to either of them… Card, I guess. It'd be easier to do it all at once, but I don't want to make it harder on either of them…"

A few minutes later, and Card was escorted into the Hospital wing. Madam Pomfery actually went against her usual policy about visitors, and withdrew into her office, wanting to give them some privacy.

It took several minutes before either could think of something to say. "I'm sorry I pushed that on you, Card," Ryua said, not quite looking at him. "I was way out of line."

"So was I," he said reluctantly. There were times he really hated the different rules in place here. If he were back at home, they could have worked it out so everyone was happy. For that matter, there wouldn't be an issue in the first place, because he wasn't bound to celibacy. Especially not against people so damn willing…

"I… I kind of wish we could just pretend it didn't happen… but that's not going to work, is it?" she sighed.

"No. It'll be worse. Better to accept it as it is, and move on."

"Just accept it?" she asked, skeptical.

"Yes, accept it." Card said, one hand moving her cheek to look at him. He didn't touch her for any longer than necessary, though. "You tried to seduce me, and I let you. There. See? Easy."

"Ah…" Ryua said, blinking at him. And then, much to her surprise, she found he was right. Oh, it wasn't comfortable, and she'd never forget it, but… "So, we both know it doesn't… doesn't mean anything, right? Yeah. I can do that. It's not like we really got anywhere anyway… and I promise I won't do it again, really."

He looked at her, calculatingly, then said, "I think I believe you. Just don't get your brains scrambled again, hmm? I might have to kill you first next time."

"Understood," Ryua said, grinning. "If I get that messed up again, you have my utmost permission to kill me."

.oOo.

And then, Harry came up, with a very excited Dobby and a large thermos of chicken-noodle soup with a plate of biscuits. Ryua could have burst into tears, she was so happy about the food, and what it implied. Harry obviously couldn't hate her too much. He brought her soup! She actually hadn't realized how worried about it she'd been.

He chuckled quietly at her expression, nudging Dobby to give her a biscuit as he poured out two mugs of soup, passing one to her. Food actually seemed to make this whole thing a lot more comfortable. It was something friendly, something neutral they could do, until it seemed easier to talk, if not about what had happened.

Because it wasn't just him taking advantage of her, not easy to put it down to her altered state of mind. Ryua knew that he wouldn't have asked it of her, not yet. That didn't necessarily mean she'd mind getting closer. And although she'd rather be completely herself, to each half of her, she'd felt whole. It was confusing.

"So you're alright now? Really alright?" he said, looking at her from his seat on the end of her bed.

"Yeah. Well, as alright as can be expected, anyway," she sighed. "I still feel very odd. I… I remember everything I did, while I was separated, as clearly as if I did it myself. Which I did, I guess… but at least I can't remember what their altered memories were. My past is my own, at least."

"That's good," Harry said, nodding. "From what you told us, neither one of you had a very good one. I mean, worse than yours…"

"Damn. I'm very glad I can't remember them then," Ryua said, shuddering. _Might as well get this over and done with._ "Listen, I'm sorry I did… that to you. I mean… oh, this is just going to sound wrong no matter what I say, isn't it?" She laughed ruefully, looking at him.

"It's not your fault!" Harry said firmly. "You were missing half of your… your conscience, and I was… well, I was…"

"Being male?" Ryua supplied, laughing genuinely this time. "That's alright. I certainly couldn't blame you, me doing what I was… and I didn't exactly mind."

"You said that," he sighed.

Ryua smiled at him. "And you know what? I _still_ don't mind. Even now that I'm all back to my normal self."

"…oh." He obviously hadn't been expecting that.

"Although, there's something I have to tell you," she said quickly, before she could change her mind.

"Uh… yeah?" he asked, slightly bemused by the quick change of subject.

"I tried to fuck Card a few days ago." Ryua said in a rush.

Harry blinked. "What?"

Ryua took a breath, then started again. "A few days ago, my darker half got bored and went after Card. Almost had him too, but he remembered he was a teacher before he removed much clothing."

"Oh." Was all Harry could think to respond to that. "Oh." Then, "So… you already talked with him, then?"

"Yeah," Ryua said, her cheeks bright pink. "He's rather sorry about it, though. I think we've worked it out, I just thought I really should tell you, that's all."

"Huh." Harry said. "Well… thanks… I think. You know, for telling me."

"Thanks for not freaking out," she said, much relieved. "When I get released, I'll make it up to you, I promise." Her smile was both promising and hopeful of a quick recovery. With a sixth sense about people getting up to no good, Madam Pomfery came and bustled Harry out before she could elaborate.

Author's Note: Thanks for all of you for reviewing, and being so patient! I honestly don't mean to take so long updating…


	36. Paternal Visit

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Paternal Visit

Madam Pomfery made Ryua sleep by 8:00 that night. And since she slept to 10 the next morning, and felt remarkably more like herself, she didn't exactly mind. "Do I have to stay here and meet him?" Ryua asked plaintively. She'd really much rather be in her dorm, or the Great Hall, anywhere that didn't make her seem so weak in front of her father.

"Yes. You do." Madam Pomfery replied for the sixth time. "I don't want you getting more exhausted or worked up over this than necessary. And I've already asked Ashley to get you some of your own school robes, she'll be here in a few minutes."

"I'm getting worked up sitting here waiting for him," Ryua pointed out, sighing.

"And what if he decides to reverse Severus' spell?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's much more convenient for Lucius to have you unbalanced and into such easily manipulated halves. I know what that man is capable of doing to you."

Ryua didn't have an answer for that one. And she hated that Pomfery knew about how he treated her, after so long keeping it a secret. She sat on her bed, grumpily waiting for Ashley to arrive.

-

She felt remarkably better once she was clean, dressed, and her hair brushed out of its stubborn tangles. She always slept badly in the Hospital wing, and even her silky hair ended up knotted at the end of the night. There wasn't time for more than a quick bite of breakfast before Lucius arrived, Dobby appearing with a pop to give the warning. Hastily, Ryua finished the last of her food, and elected to stand up. It felt less like she had to be here, that way.

When Lucius entered, looking all proper and dignified, with just the right amount of harried worry to his look, Ryua was leaning nonchalantly against the wall beside her bed. She'd quickly discovered that there was a reason Madam Pomfery had wanted her to stay in her bed, as her knees felt like giving out after about five minutes. Hence the wall. Her voice was as steady and calm as ever though. "Lucius. Wondered when you'd take time from your busy schedule to come visit me. Of course, you needn't have bothered."

"Oh, Ryua," he sighed, shaking his head in a sorrowful, patronizing sort of way. "I understand you've been through a lot. And I'm truly sorry I couldn't get here sooner, you know that."

"Right. You just liked me when I was all weepy and clingy." Ryua snorted with disgust. "Don't waste my time. You've done your fatherly duty now, you can leave."

His two Ministry aides came in behind him, witnessing everything that happened, so they could say that Lucius was indeed a caring, proper father. Lucius smiled at her, that winning, charming smile that got him so much in life. "I'm of course happy you've made such an excellent start to your recovery. But I'm worried that your mind might still be a little confused. That's why I've told Dumbledore that you're to come home this Christmas, to get your bearings again."

Ryua's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"Where better to finish healing your mind and emotions?" he asked, spreading his arms, grinning broadly. "It'll be a lovely, quiet two weeks, no visitors, just our little family, getting yourself back to normal."

She glared at him, opened her mouth to say something rude. And discovered, much to her fury, that he'd paralyzed her voice box. Instead, she forced a sweet smile onto her face, and walked forward to him. Her arms were trembling with the urge to strangle him, so she kept them firmly at her side. "You bastard. Dumbledore would never agree to that," she whispered furiously.

"Ah, but I'm the Minister," he whispered back, one hand stroking her hair. "If he wants to keep this school open, he doesn't dare to go against me."

Ryua suppressed a shudder, grinding her teeth. "Leave Draco in school. Let him stay here and I'll come home quietly."

"You want some father-daughter time?" he asked sarcastically. "How sweet."

"I don't want him getting hurt." Ryua growled, "Because the crossfire is going to be brutal."

Lucius smiled nastily, trying to cover the faint worry with cockiness. "You realize it is law for the school to be emptied over the holidays now?"

"Yeah. Half the kids going home to their wizard families, the other to vulnerable muggle towns." Ryua, although she'd been dreading her own visit home, was much more worried about ones like Hermione or Dean. "But Draco's a Death Eater now anyway, isn't he? So, what's one more rebellion against the rules, eh?"

He looked at her for a few moments, weighing out possible consequences and benefits. Eventually, he smiled, patting her shoulder, and saying in a normal voice, "Alright then. It'll be just you and me, easier to relax, hmm?"

"Sure." Ryua said dryly, trying to hold the sarcasm out of her voice. Lucius' quieting spell wore off when he stopped speaking in whispers. "Now, if you don't mind, I could use some more rest, father dearest." She glared at him, carefully burying any actual signs of weakness behind her fury.

"Of course," he said, backing towards the door. "Now, I'll come and get you personally on the last day of school. Take it easy now."

Ryua sighed with relief when he left, collapsing down onto the nearest bed. Madam Pomfery came over immediately, checking her over. "I don't like the idea of you going home with that monster," she said, her lips tight.

"Me either… but I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

-

The Daily Prophet, for the last few weeks, had been running the same stories as ever, making the Ministry look good. And for once, the Ministry was actually doing alright for itself. The Wizarding community hadn't been this free of Death Eater attacks since they came into the open. And then, Luna Lovegood passed around copies of the Quibbler at their next DA meeting. "We might be doing alright, but the Muggles are doing terribly."

Coming from the Quibbler, most people would have been rather inclined to ignore this little tidbit of information. Especially as it was posted beside an article on how to charm your own narfles out of mistletoe. The report was organized in a graph, spread across two pages, with different Muggle cities in England, and the number and type of attacks sniffed out by the Quibbler's reporters.

There hadn't been many fatalities yet, mostly harassments. Cars that exploded in parking lots, trees that burned down, kids that came home from school gibbering with fear. And the mysterious men in black cloaks that always seemed to be around the scenes always disappeared without a trace. It wasn't until Hermione reached a name about halfway down the list, that she said something. "Didsbury… we got a letter from my aunt in Didsbury. She… her two kids were found dead two weeks ago, no marks, nothing that should have killed them, except for the expressions of pain on their faces." She finished the last in a whisper.

"Sloppy and lazy," Ryua growled. "Torturing kids? How pathetic can you get?" She looked at the little entry beside the town, 'several unexplained bouts of pain, two child deaths' was the impersonal, but informative entry. "Anybody with direct Wizarding relations? Right in the family?"

"Next page," Luna said. "There have only been three. Apparently, when they ran into unexpected resistance, the scarpered off." Ministry watches had apparently been put on all three homes as well, just to be careful.

"So, why guard the homes that can protect themselves?" Neville asked curiously, looking at the short paragraph.

"Cause they're the ones who will complain," Cassie said, leaning on his shoulder. "Muggles don't make Wizard news… no offense to you all…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's true though. And with the Death Eaters still skirmishing with the Magical community, the Ministry is getting awful stretched. I think there's one wizard per Muggle town right now, and that's a massive drain on the Aurors."

"He wouldn't be planning to withdraw Muggle support, would he?" Harry asked, looking up at her suddenly.

"Damn. That's exactly the sort of thing he'd do!" Ryua snapped. "All he needs is a big catastrophe of some sort, where he couldn't get enough Aurors there, and the Wizengamut would support him."

"I'll tell Dumbledore on my way back to the Common Room then," Justin said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He, as well as the rest of the prefects, were overworked, their patrols nightly and longer so no one was out on their own anymore. The teachers were toying with the idea of promoting some students to at least bodyguard status, to spread the workload a bit.

The meeting was disbanded with that uneasy note, and they all split off to their separate Common Rooms. Although she was completely confident she could handle anything that would show up in the school at night, Ryua was still glad of the company Cassie gave her. Plus, it was fun to tease her. "So… you seem a little closer to that boy than before,"

"No!" Cassie protested, then laughed. "Well, okay, maybe a little. He's a lot better than them in our house."

"See? I was on the right track all along," Ryua said, grinning. "The hat DID say to promote inter-house cooperation, you know."

"So we're ahead of the train then, eh? Especially you, if that goodnight kiss was any indication…" Cassie teased lightly.

"Hey! Leave my personal life out of this conversation!" Ryua protested, laughing. "I think I've deserved a little relaxation." Harry still thought she was coming home to the Weasleys for Christmas. She hadn't had the heart to tell him otherwise yet. She hadn't told anyone yet, for that matter, because it would only make it harder to leave.

Author's Note: Tis short, I know. And late, I know that too. I've been really busy with lots of stuff. But I go on vacation on Monday, so I should have some time starting then to get caught back up. Hey, if anyone would like to go look at my artwork, I'm now at: ryua . deviantart . com


	37. Morale is Low

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Morale is Low

"Minerva?"

"Albus?" McGonagall replied cautiously. He had a positively unholy look in his eye. "What are you planning now?"

"I think that the school needs a morale boost."

Finding nothing immediately dangerous about that statement, she said, "Go on…"

"Minerva, let's plan a ball!"

"… A ball?" she replied, aghast. "Albus, do you remember how much work the last one was? And that was before all of the new Ministry imposed Security measures. We'd never get a band in, and the decorations would never go over…"

"So, we'll scrounge together a magical gramophone, or comb the school for students and teachers who're willing to take a turn playing!" he said insistently. "We need to do something, Minerva. Something beautiful, something completely for the purpose of frivolous enjoyment."

"I agree with you in principle, Albus…" she protested. "But really! We're having a hard enough time keeping the school open and free of Ministry influence as it is!"

"All the more reason to do this!" he said, his eyes bright and earnest. "It's vital we keep that taste of freedom. And make sure the taste stays sweet in our minds."

Minerva was caving, as she knew she would. As she always did. "Albus… sometimes I really detest you."

"I know," he said, eyes twinkling. "I'd rather have your hatred than anyone else's love."

"Oh, shut up," she mumbled, blushing. She swept out, hearing his chuckle behind her as she slammed the door.

-

So, when Ryua was allowed to go to classes the next day, it was to hear a rather welcome announcement. Card said it with his normal, cool attitude of course, but the entire class was instantly buzzing. "A dance? We're actually getting a dance?" Hermione whispered excitedly.

"This is going to be SO much better than the last one," Ryua laughed, almost giggling. "On account of no fiancés…"

"Or foreign exchange students," Hermione agreed.

Ryua grinned. "I'll tell Harry to knock some sense into Ron's head this time, eh?"

"Don't do that!" Hermione squealed, although she didn't really look much against the idea.

Their conversation was cut short, by Card's sudden continuation. "And I'll be teaching you lot how to dance… because Minerva refused this time. I can't imagine why…" he said dryly. "That's what your next Defense classes will be devoted to, Dumbledore's orders."

"Dumbledore is ordering us to take dance lessons?" Ron said, aghast. "He's mental!"

"Seriously, Ron," Ryua said, poking him. "Men who can dance are sexy. There's just no other way to put that. Therefore, you should learn. Both of you, for that matter." She included Harry in that statement, who promptly stopped laughing at Ron and paled.

"She's right," Neville said, leaning forward from behind them. "I was downright popular in our fourth year, at that ball. And that's saying something."

"You see? Don't want to be shown up by Neville, do you?" Hermione teased, smiling gratefully at the boy. She didn't want to end up sitting bored all night long.

The conversation would have escalated then, but Card's voice cut sharply across them. "This isn't an option, by the way. Boys had just better hope that there are some ladies capable of teaching you… or you'll be partnering me." He grinned wickedly, making a few girls swoon at the idea. The class cleared very quickly for lunch after that statement.

"So, Neville… better get asking Cassie, eh? She'll be peeved if she has to go with someone else." Ryua said, poking him on the way to the Great Hall.

He sputtered, going red. "Cassie? She… I, um…"

"Ask her, Longbottom," Ryua repeated, rolling her eyes. "Trust me. And she's not from a family deeply involved with the Death Eaters either, you'll be perfectly safe."

Luckily for Neville, they got to the Great Hall then, and he could peel away without having to answer her. Ryua chuckled, walking towards her own table. The other teachers had apparently all given the same announcement, with Card being the teacher. It appeared that five days worth of Defense classes were just going to be voided for the entire school. Even the younger students were allowed to attend this one, as a group of very, very excited first-year girls were giggling about. The dance was set to start the last evening of school before the holiday, at 6:00, and the fourth and under years had a curfew of 9:00. It looked like Dumbledore was removing all other curfew restrictions, except for the no-exceptions rule of leaving the grounds.

"He really wants us to enjoy ourselves," Draco said, grinning. "No curfew? Yeesh… he's either getting senile or really, really cool."

"Really, really cool is my vote," Ashley said cheerfully. "Although McGonagall did stress that the gender restrictions on our dorms are staying in full force."

"She would," Ryua laughed, rolling her eyes. "I don't care though. This is going to be _so_ much fun."

-

Card seemed to take to his new teaching job with a surprisingly good humor. Every meal, students were talking about how the lessons had gone, and the skill of their teacher. "Is there anything that man_ can't_ do?" Goyle growled one time, after a particularly praising bunch of third-year girls came back from their class. The boys were starting to feel a little put out by their sudden lack of attention.

"Haven't found anything yet, no," Ryua said calmly. "But you could just learn to dance, and then you wouldn't be jealous, hmm?"

"Not jealous…" Crabbe pouted, Goyle nodding sullenly. Ryua just chuckled and ate some more soup. They finally had their first class that afternoon, and the Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth-years were just a little nervous, or excited depending who you talked to.

The Defense room had been cleared of desks, the chairs lined up along the walls. McGonagall's gramophone was in one corner, with Card leaning against it. "Come in, sit down, and close the door. I find you get less distracted when there's nobody spying."

They filed in, somewhat reluctantly in a few cases, and Ryua shut the door, taking the seat closest to it. Paranoia… she liked being next to the escape route. Card looked over the class. "I only have… three classes to teach you lot how to dance," he said, walking slowly to the centre of the room. "I'd rather have three years. However, this should be enough to at least get the basics through the thickest skulls here. Now, do any of you actually know how to dance?"

A silent pause filled the room, then Parvati's, Ryua's, and Draco's hand rose into the air. Parvati's voice was actually rather proud, if a little fangirlish, "My sister and I have been dancing since we were three, sir, our mother taught us."

"Good." He said, nodding sharply. "So, at least you know how to move. What kind of dance?"

"Erm… different kinds of traditional dance?" she said, her eyes wide. The family was from India a generation back, giving the twins dark hair, enviably clear, dark skin, and incredibly soft, dark eyes, coupled with a real sense of graceful movement.

"Ah. Then you'll pick up on this quickly enough," he said. "You two, Malfoys. Ballroom dances?"

"Every kind on the face of the earth, I think," Ryua replied good-naturedly. Draco nodded, looking much more like his usual cocky self now.

"Then you come up here, Ryua," he said, beckoning her forward. "And we can show what we'll be teaching them. A waltz, for basics, and a tango for those more adept."

She grinned broadly. If he was half as good as the scuttlebutt said, this was going to be a lot of fun. The music started with a gesture from his hand, and she found herself swung into a simple, elegant waltz. He was definitely good. This was the calmest, most proper of the dances, and she could still feel the pure physical attraction of him. Oddly, it didn't bother her in the slightest. Apparently their incident earlier had removed any awkwardness.

"See? Simple enough," Card said, lifting Ryua from the last Waltz pose of the song. As the music ended, he let her go, looking around the class with a faint sense of amusement. About half the students looked relieved, and half looked bored out of their minds. "And now, for those of you who think that's far too tame and boring…" He flicked his fingers at the gramophone again, and the first slow, stirring strains of a Cuban air filled the room.

Ryua let a brief grin cross her face before she schooled her expression into one properly desirous and aroused for the music. Card's hand touched hers briefly, and they exchanged a quick glance before looking sharply away, as if they couldn't bear the sight of the other. The music started into a heavy, intoxicating beat, and she lost herself in the dance.

It was easy to do with a partner as skilled as Card was. She actually found herself wishing she was still attracted to him, so she could really, fully enjoy the experience. As it was, she felt completely uninhibited, receiving and returning the caresses inherent in the dance, pressing her body to his lithe, powerful one, spinning sharply out with the jerks of his arm, falling hard against him when he pulled her back close. By the time the dance was over, the room was deadly silent, and several of the boys were sitting with their legs crossed. Ryua stalked from his side, refusing to look at him, keeping in the spirit of the performance. Until she made it to her chair, and sat down, grinning giddily as she caught her breath. "I believe you could all manage to believe this isn't an old-fashioned, straight-laced idea then?" Card said lightly, his own chest heaving. "We'll start by partnering up, and I'll teach you the basic steps."

He had absolutely no argument for the rest of the class.

-

"Aren't you going to report him for handling you like that?" Pansy said, wide-eyed, after they were dismissed.

"Mmm?" Ryua asked, surprised that Pansy had spoken to her. Apparently, this sexy tidbit about the teacher overrode the fear that had kept her away. "No, of course not. Why… did we come across a little strong?"

"Um…" Pansy said, swallowing. She was easily intimidated, even when Ryua was barely trying. She pretended interest in a group of passing fourth-year Slytherin girls, and left quickly. Ryua chuckled, and walked ahead to Hermione's group.

"When did you learn to move like that?" Hermione asked, her eyes sparkling. "That was incredible! Did you practice?"

"I learned when I was young… well, not too young, for that dance," she said, grinning. "And no, that was spontaneous. Incredible what you can do when your partner knows how to lead…"

"That wasn't just leading," Ron said, an incredulous expression on his face. "It looked almost like something out of a naughty magazine or something…"

"Ron!" Hermione said sharply. Ryua wasn't sure if it was the comparison he'd made between his friend and an adult model, or the fact that he read said magazines that made her so angry.

He had the decency to blush, along with a beet-red Harry. Ryua just laughed though, which made Hermione more than slightly annoyed. "Well… that does take a little bit of a connection to your partner. Good chemistry and all that. Very, very comfortable with sexual contact…" She was teasing by the end, enjoying the rather remarkable shade of fuchsia that Ron turned.

Even Hermione was a little pink. "He _is_ a teacher, Ryua…"

"Oh, we worked that all out earlier," Ryua said, unable to resist teasing her. "Dumbledore cleared it, of course… I already asked Harry, tell her, hmm?"

"Of course," Harry said, grinning. "I'm completely okay with it, Hermione, it's all worked out nicely."

She looked either like she was going to faint, or scream, and eventually, Ryua took pity on her, pulling her to the side to very quietly tell her what really happened.

-

After supper that evening, Prefect bodyguard duties were announced for sixth and seventh years with top marks in Defense. They would be assigned by their teachers, cross-houses as much as possible, to promote cooperation, and shuffled as necessary. Ryua was assigned over to the Gryffindor Prefects. She wasn't complaining, but she thought she detected a bit of Dumbledore influence in that decision, somehow.

Ron would be her Prefect, which suited her perfectly. And him too, he was obviously worried he'd be given Goyle or someone similar. Actually, it meant that there was someone sensible doing his patrol for the first time without Hermione partnering him. Not to mention that she talked him through his more confusing Transfiguration homework. And dance steps. And how to ask Hermione to the upcoming ball.

By the end of the night, she was glad to be able to send him to bed, having told him very plainly to ask her tomorrow. Ryua would be tempted to curse him if he spent another evening frantically asking her to repeat her directions over and over again.


	38. Christmas Planning

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Christmas Planning

The next morning, halfway through breakfast, the entire Gryffindor table erupted into applause. Word buzzed through the tables, and the clapping spread to Hufflepuff, and half of Ravenclaw. When Ryua finally heard what had happened, she added her own enthusiastic catcall to the din.

"So, Weasley finally asked the little mudblood?" Draco chuckled. "We've only been waiting for that since what, first year?"

Ron and Hermione looked rather like they'd enjoy to just melt down into the floor, especially when Dumbledore was noticed applauding politely. And then McGonagall glared at him until he stopped, but the embarrassment was already done.

Luckily for them, their first class was Defense, and Card completely ignored the occurrence. Ryua and Draco were set to teaching the more frustrated people how to move, while Card led the main class. One person in particular happened to be avoiding her, though, and she was determined to go bother him at first chance.

After class, Ryua meandered over to Harry; Ron and Hermione promptly left. "Hi Harry!" she said brightly.

"Ryua!" Harry said, almost yelping. "Uh… hi. Didn't see you there…"

"Well, of course you didn't, I didn't want you to notice me…" she chuckled. "Not when it's so easy to terrify you."

He grimaced slightly, his cheeks showing just a tinge of pink. "That's just cruel, you know."

"Hey, I'm a cruel chick." Ryua said, shrugging. "But you're trying to avoid me."

"No!" he protested quickly.

She sighed, looking at him. "You know, you lie terribly."

He looked uncomfortable; luckily for him, the rest of the class had left, and Card was back in his office, doing marking or something. "I just… I don't think it's a very good idea to ask you to this ball thing…"

Ryua was momentarily lost for words, and forcing herself from either cursing him, hitting him, or bursting into tears. Definitely _not_ the last one. "Well, if that's the way you feel about it," she said coolly, turning and going out of the room without a backward glance.

Card came silently up behind him, said flatly, "You should have asked her."

He did yelp this time, spinning around to face him. "Why can't anyone make noise in this school? And I just don't want her getting killed or tortured over me, that's all… I thought you'd appreciate that, seeing as how you're supposed to guard her."

Card looked coolly down at him, his two or three inch difference looking incredibly more mature and imposing somehow. "Harry, it would be easier for me if you were a hermit who hated all human contact. But you're not. So, you'd better just enjoy yourself, and not piss off someone like Ryua. Do you really want her as an enemy? I wouldn't."

Harry somehow couldn't think of what to say to that. Taking that as having made his point, Card nodded. "She likes you, and doesn't care who knows it, Harry. Now that that's settled, you have one class to get up the nerve to ask her, she has Care of Magical Creatures right now."

"Card, even if I ask her, and assuming she doesn't kill me… or something equally undesirable… I still couldn't keep up with her, you know, to dance." Harry looked incredibly embarrassed by that admission.

"Well, that's because you avoided the only girl who could teach you, isn't it?" Card said, shaking his head slightly. "But you have a free period now, and so do I."

"…did you just memorize everyone's timetables?" Harry asked, blinking.

"Yes. Now. Your hand would start here, feet positioned so…" Card said, starting the less than enviable task of teaching Harry how to actually keep up with someone like Ryua.

-

"That bastard!" Ryua hissed, as she crossed the Hogwarts grounds towards Hagrid's hut. Neville paced silently beside her, looking slightly scared. She'd been venting for five minutes already.

Eventually, he managed to work up enough courage to say, somewhat shakily, "You know… I don't think he meant it to come out that way, Ryua." She glared at him, but didn't say anything or offer to kill him, so Neville continued. "I mean… he really likes you, he just doesn't want you to get in trouble with your family."

"The only _family_ I have already knows," Ryua growled.

Neville rolled his eyes, getting braver now that she hadn't cursed him yet. "I'm talking about your father, Ryua, and you know it. And frankly, the whole Slytherin House too."

"I can handle Lucius," she said sullenly. "And my House."

"Still… try and see it from Harry's perspective?" Neville asked, inwardly sighing with relief that he was still alive.

Ryua was silent for a minute, before muttering, "I hate being so oversensitive…"

Luckily for her, the Care of Magical Creatures class was really an incredibly ridiculous amount of fun. Since Dumbledore had so suddenly come up with the idea of the ball, everyone had been pressed into preparations. Hagrid was selected to do the lighting, which in his language, meant fairies. So, he, Fang, Neville, and Ryua all went scouring through the forest, looking for the little flighty things.

They were dead easy to coax, once you found one. You just had to say how beautiful it was, and how much you'd love their brilliant light to grace the party they were planning. They didn't have much intelligence, but if they thought they would be admired, they'd show up. Hagrid had promised a bar of chocolate to the person who convinced more fairies to show up, although since nobody actually kept track, they all just ended up splitting the chocolate anyway.

So once Ryua finally made it back to the school for lunch, she was in a considerably better mood. One fairy in particular had decided it liked her, and was presently perched on top of her head, shedding sparkly fairy dust all down her hair and mumbling happy little fairy sounds to itself. Neville, sparkles having no place in his wardrobe, kept brushing patches of the stuff off his robes.

-

Harry finally made it down to the Great Hall ten minutes into lunch, because he'd needed a change of robes. He reminded himself to get a very light set of dress robes, if Ryua was going to work him half as hard as Card had. This was, of course, assuming she would agree to go with him, and not kill him. "Where you been, mate?" Ron asked. "You've been gone all spare!"

"Extra Defense lessons," Harry said absently, toying with the question of how to ask Ryua to the ball. "Ron, how do you go about asking a girl to go with you, when you're nervous as hell?"

"Blimey, mate," Ron said, shrugging. "I just asked her. It was easier than thinking about it, really."

"Really?"

"Yep… but in your case… I wouldn't maybe do it with her whole House sitting there…"

Harry sighed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to shadow her? She's paranoid enough on her own, and you add her brother, and friends, and those two goons into the mix…"

"Her friends, and her brother, maybe even Crabbe and Goyle know already, Harry," Hermione said, matter-of-factly. "It won't be as bad as you think."

"Yeah, well you aren't the one asking her," Harry muttered, slowly eating lunch, although his stomach felt like anything but eating.

-

Ryua was just on her way to a free period in the library when Harry caught up to her from behind. Much to his relief, everyone else was in either Defense or Charms, depending on their year. He had two minutes to get down to his own Charms class, but Flitwick was pretty lenient. "Uh, Ryua?" he asked carefully, coming up beside her.

"Yes?" she sighed, trying to remind herself to be not furious with him.

He stifled a wince at her tone, and said it before he had a chance to change his mind about it. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you earlier, would you go with me? To the ball?"

She stopped, turning to look at him. After a moment of being lost for words, she said, "Really? You mean that?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah I do. Please don't kill me?"

Ryua blinked, then grinned back. "Oh, I suppose I could restrain myself… really? You're ready to just be… open about this?"

"If you are," he said, shrugging. "They all already want me dead. I'm just worried about your life getting miserable."

"Harry, it could not possibly be more miserable than it is," Ryua said firmly, hoping that she wasn't lying through her teeth. "I'd rather be miserable, and not have to hide from you, then miserable and still pretend to hate you. Does that make sense?"

He laughed. "Yeah, it does…"

She leaned forward, kissing him lightly, and then smacked his shoulder lightly. "Now, you're going to be late for class, if you don't get going. I'll see you in whatever class we have together… let's wait for the ball, and really terrify everyone!" Ryua chuckled, somewhat evilly.

"Alright," Harry laughed, backing down the hallway. "Until then, we'll be normal?"

"Yes. Now get the hell out of my sight, Potter!" Ryua called after him, grinning madly. With a very happy feeling, Ryua went to go and study, or at least attempt to. She really doubted she'd be able to concentrate, somehow.


	39. Last Day

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Last Day

Dumbledore stood up at breakfast on that Friday, saying cheerfully that all classes were cancelled for the day. Card, McGonagall, and himself would be teaching more dance classes for those who wished them, and the students were free to go to Hogsmeade. Ryua, Cassie, and Ashley immediately made plans to go shopping. Neither of the younger girls had full dress robes yet, and Ryua had thoroughly grown out of her old ones.

Ashley invited Ginny, who invited Hermione, who was somewhat bemused to find herself shopping with a group full of Slytherin girls, but seemed to be happy enough. "So… all of us need robes now?" Hermione asked as they all boarded one carriage. "I know I grew out of mine…" She gestured hopelessly to her now much larger breasts. "Fourth year Christmas was a long time ago."

Ryua chuckled. She'd gotten longer, and subtly curved, but nowhere near Hermione's extent. "Yeah, I'm too tall. And these three have never been to a formal ball, I think."

"Nope!" Cassie giggled. "This is going to be fun…"

"Neville ask you yet?"

She grinned, a little pink. "Yes! Did Harry?"

Ryua grinned. "Maybe…"

"And both our dates are common knowledge," Ashley said, glancing at Hermione who blushed a brilliant shade of scarlet. "Gin? What about you?"

"Mmm… Dean," she said grinning.

Hermione blinked. "Wow. You've been with him for… four months now? Good for you!"

"Yeah… Ron's furious, of course. But he'd be furious about anyone I went out with," Ginny said airily. "But Dean's a decent guy, honestly."

"Isn't there something people say about artists, and their skilled, careful hands?" Ashley teased.

"I wouldn't know," Ginny scoffed, going pink. She giggled.

This naturally led to a discussion of things that kept one or more of them pink the entire way there. "So… Harry had to teach you that being touched is a good thing?" Ginny said, prodding Ryua.

"Yes. Twice…" she mumbled, not looking at them. "Poor guy…"

Cassie snorted. "Yeah. Poor guy. I'm sure he just hates having to do that…"

"Hey, it's not funny…" Ryua protested, then laughed. "Okay, maybe it is, in a really sad sort of way." The carriage stopped then, providing an escape route. They all piled out into the centre of Hogsmeade. "So, where are we going? I'm broke, so…" Ryua blinked. "Actually, I have no idea where to go."

"This way," Ginny said, laughing and tugging on her arm. "Trust me, you can get the best stuff in second-hand stores…" She wouldn't let the other three come along though, maybe realizing it was hard enough for Ryua to do this around someone who'd always had nothing. Worse with people who had money, and worse still because they were friends, and apt to offer to buy her something.

It was decidedly strange, and rather uncomfortable to be shopping like this, Ryua reflected as they browsed through what was on the racks. She was used to being able to just pick a fabric, and colour, and style, and have it fitted exactly to her. And although Ginny assured her she'd be able to tailor anything Ryua found, she still had to get fairly close in size.

Ginny made her just grab anything she liked, to try on, and Ryua did her best to stay cheerful. But her patience was wearing by the third trip to the change room. "Gin… there's nothing ball-ish here. Nothing that doesn't make me look like a muggle at her junior prom, anyway."

"Hmm…" Ginny looked over the store. "I think you're maybe right… wait. You come over here." And Ryua was dragged off again.

"Gin? Where are we?" she asked, looking around with surprise.

"Welcome to the costumes and theatre section," Ginny giggled. "Should have come here to begin with… You want sparkly, feathers, leather, velvet, lace, dramatic, striking…anything. This is the place."

She was right. It was absolutely not organized at all, but there was the most incredible assortment of things in there. With much more enthusiasm than before, Ryua filed through the racks, pulling out what looked like an authentic Victorian dress with corset and white wig included, a dress that could have come from the Muggle 60's, a full Muggle tuxedo, and any number of fun things. Ginny made her put back the Valkyrie armor and horned helmet though.

"…you know… I like the dress, but I think I'll pass out if I wear the corset," Ryua said, in an oddly high, breathy kind of voice. "And you didn't even lace it very far…" Ginny was having the time of her life, dressing Ryua up like a giant, moveable doll. "And besides… it's pink. With lace. Lots of lace."

"You _are _a girl," Ginny giggled. "It's not like poor Ron…" She took pity on her though, and undid the strings. Breathing in gratefully, Ryua ducked back to try on more clothes. The 60's peasant dress was fun, but not nearly flashy enough. Ryua thought seriously about wearing the tux, and even more about the Artemis seductress costume, but neither made Ginny happy enough, and so she kept getting sent in to change again.

"How did I miss you picking this?" Ryua said, awestruck.

"Mmm? Oh, you were all occupied with that thing with blue feathers," Ginny replied. "Go on, try it on…"

"It's got a bad stain all down one sleeve," Ryua said, coming out and peering at it. "And it looks like the elves have already been at it…"

"So we lose the sleeves," Ginny said, grinning broadly. "It fits you perfectly, otherwise."

Ryua grinned, spinning. What looked like an elegant, formal, full-length skirt flared out beautifully to just above her knees. It was black at the bottom, fading up into a brilliant scarlet, fitted top. It was a high-necked affair, with a large keyhole on the chest just under the neck. The tip of one scar was just visible on the edge of the circle, and her arms would of course have to be bare, but… "I like it. I wasn't sure I'd be able to wear it, but I like it."

"Yeah, red's a good colour on you." Ginny said. "And yeah, we'll just take those off… make a halter dress instead, I'm thinking."

"I need the back and left sleeve," Ryua said, rubbing the inside of her left arm against her hip.

"Okay, fine. An off-the shoulder style then. I'd steal that dress myself, except that it would go terribly with my hair…"

Ryua grinned again, looking over the dress. Except for the one sleeve, it was in excellent condition, soft and well made, if not a terribly expensive fabric. "I'll need shoes…"

"You could borrow a pair of mine!" Cassie said exuberantly. She'd just come in, lugging a large bag behind her. "I'm wearing blue, so you can have the black pair, they'll go fine… you can wear heels, right?"

"Please," Ryua groaned, rolling her eyes. "That's like, ballroom 101. I learned every dance I know in heeled shoes."

"Then it's settled. You take that off, and we'll get ready to go. Ginny said, replacing all but her own dress into the racks. She'd gone with white, flowing cotton, probably an off-cast of a Greek goddess costume.

A handful of sickles later, and they all met up in the Three broomsticks for a quick butterbeer before heading back to Hogwarts. They'd all been successful in their shopping, and were all very giggly.

Back at Hogwarts, Ginny and Ryua found themselves a quiet classroom to start tailoring her dress to fit. Ginny's hadn't required much except the addition of a gold chain for a belt, but Ryua's needed a bit more of an alteration. The slicing charm was something else Ryua could easily do. It worked kind of like a muggle X-acto knife, a thin blade of magic protruding from the tip of a wand.

The stained sleeve was very quickly sliced off, and although it would expose a couple more scars than Ryua would have preferred, she had to admit the effect was very good. She watched in fascination as Ginny hemmed the new edge with another charm. "I'll have to get myself a needle and thread," Ryua mused.

"Really? It's an easy charm," Ginny said, reaching out to show Ryua how.

She pulled her hand away, shaking her head. "No… best case scenario is it wouldn't work. Worst case, I'd end up, like, sewing your eyelids shut or something."

"Charming. Well, you're all ready to wear… what are you doing to your hair? And jewelry?"

Ryua sighed. "I have no jewelry as of now… I'll maybe get some over Christmas though. My hair will just have to live with being tied up in a ponytail, I think."

"Good enough then," Ginny said. "We have to go eat supper now, but then we can get dressed!"

Ryua grinned happily, and bundled her dress into a very carefully wrinkle-free roll, putting it in her book bag. She didn't trust Pansy enough to leave it in her dorm over supper. The entire Hall was buzzing, although it still looked almost the same as it usually did. There were clusters of fairies starting to perch around the rafters though.

Supper was eaten quickly, and people dashed out to get ready for the ball in giggling groups. Ryua, Cassie, and Ashley all piled into the younger girls' dorms, and happily started dressing each other up. Cassie, naturally, had tracked down something that looked almost obscenely sparkly, a bright shade of green. On her, somehow, it didn't look ugly at all, the full length robes moving spectacularly in the light.

Ashley looked very, very different, like a night and day difference. She was in full black, long sleeves that covered her to the tips of her fingers, long, layered skirts that brushed the top of her feet. A silver dragon pendant, on a fine silver chain, pulled the outfit into focus. Cassie teased her about it, an early Christmas gift from Draco.

"Think I'm showing too much skin?" Ryua asked, twisting to look at her back in the mirror. One scar wrapped around her shoulder, and the tip of one was visible at the base of her neck, plus the two in front. "I don't think I've ever been this bare in public."

"You're fine, Ashley said firmly, pulling Ryua's sleek, pale blonde hair up into a long, high ponytail. It still fell almost to her waist, fanning out, then into a gentle point.

"So, are we ready then?" Cassie said excitedly. "I wanna go!"

"Yes, I suppose we are," Ashley laughed. "Let's go, then."

Author's Note: And the ball is another chapter… Thank you for the reviews, everyone, please keep them coming!


	40. Ball

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Ball

"Are you still sure this is a good idea?" Ron asked Harry, nervously trying to comb his hair into obedience. "You taking Ryua?"

"Maybe not…" Harry sighed, not even bothering with his own hair. It was falling smoother now that it grew longer anyway. "But if she wants to take the risk…"

"Yeah, she can take care of herself… she's coming home with us over Christmas anyway, isn't she?"

"Yeah. I think so anyway, she didn't say anything different," Harry replied, thinking. "I'll check with her later on… Oh, Ron, just leave it. Hermione'll be much less happy if you show up late than if you have messy hair, c'mon…"

Ron was much more comfortably dressed this time around, Fred and George's gift robes suiting him much better than the lacy ones. Harry had also grown out of his, and was in black, with scarlet trim. Silk, at Hermione and Ginny's insistence.

Hermione's entrance caused a momentary pause just as awed as at the fourth year ball. She was in deep honey-gold, some fabric that clung to her suddenly much more mature frame, shimmering as she moved. Although it was a full-length skirt, the slit up the side was much higher than her parents probably expected, and the deep v-neck certainly was deeper. Her hair was gathered up, pinned in place with long, amber-tipped gold skewers, cascading down her back in long, tight ringlets. A perfectly round, smooth pendant of amber on a gold chain nestled just above the smooth dip of her cleavage, which is naturally where Ron's gaze settled.

She snapped her fingers in front of his gaze, and he looked up startled at her face. She was grinning through, and walked towards him. "Evening, Mr. Weasley…" she said demurely.

"Ah… Good evening…" he managed, offering his arm. Harry laughed silently, following the two of them out.

He peeled hurriedly off from the group, wending his way between groups of giggling students towards the Slytherin dorms, hoping to catch her before she got all the way up. Neville met him, looking lost. "D'you know where the Slytherin Common room is?" he asked helplessly.

"Yeah, c'mon," Harry chuckled. "Nervous?"

"Oh, hell yes. Department of Mysteries was nothing to this…"

Harry elbowed him gently. "Relax… Cassie likes you. And she's a sweet girl. And you can already dance. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"I guess…" Neville said, sighing. "What about you?"

"Me? Fine, absolutely fine…" Harry said quickly.

"Right…" Neville chuckled. "Don't worry, she likes you. And… well, she likes you. You'll be fine."

"Oh, thanks for that resounding confidence booster," Harry snorted, as they rounded the corner to the Slytherin Common room corridor. Luckily for both of them, Cassie was easily visible, dragging Ryua along behind her.

"You came to pick us up!" Cassie said exuberantly, giggling.

"At peril of life and limb," Neville replied with an elaborate bow. He was much more comfortable now that they were actually there. "Let's go before that peril becomes definite?"

"Agreed," Ryua said, glancing over her shoulder at several disbelieving, infuriated faces starting to notice what was going on. "I don't mind a fight, but I really wouldn't like to make a mess of the outfit."

The four of them quickly exited the corridor, dropping what small dignity they had to sprint a ways, just in case someone behind them got nasty ideas. "Yeesh, talk about an adrenaline rush…" Harry said, looking back over his shoulder, laughing nervously.

"Thanks for coming to get me anyway," Ryua murmured, kissing his cheek. "You're incredibly pettable tonight… you should wear silk more often," she noted, grinning as she slipped her arm through his.

Harry silently thanked the girls for insisting on it, and promised to not doubt them again. Belatedly, now that he could look without worrying about being cursed from behind, Harry stepped slightly away from her, taking in her whole appearance. "You look excellent, by the way… Think McGonagall will let you get away with that dress?"

"Sure she will," Ryua chuckled. "Its full length, and the left arm is fully covered… There's nothing inappropriate about my shoulder." She didn't mention how high the skirt would likely swirl if she really got going dancing.

"Well… maybe it isn't traditionally inappropriate," Harry said, his hand running lightly over her bare skin. "But it's certainly intriguing…"

She shivered lightly at his touch, grinning. She leaned into his fingers, brushing against him. "Well… I'm glad you think so. You're the person I was trying to intrigue."

Neville made a gagging sound, Cassie giggling. "Oh, c'mon you two, don't go getting all heavy already. Plenty of time for that later."

Ryua stuck out her tongue, but they pulled apart slightly, walking toward the Great Hall again. There were more and more people as they got closer, and they arrived just as McGonagall opened the massive doors. The band appeared to be made up of Flitwick, Dumbledore, Hagrid perched unexpectedly behind the drum set, Katie Bell, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, all in full party gear. From the pile of instruments set neatly behind the stage, it looked like they'd all be switching off throughout the night.

"Justin sings?" Neville asked in astonishment, as the Hufflepuff adjusted a magically-powered microphone.

"Apparently," Ryua chuckled. "With Dumbledore and Katie on backup. Who'd have guessed? Well, about those two, anyway. I figured Justin would have some artistic talent…"

"Why?" Cassie asked, curiously. "He's never struck me as an artistic type."

Ryua grinned. "He's too pretty to be straight. Plus, he keeps going for walks with the Head Boy, from Ravenclaw?"

"Yeesh, talk about oblivious," Harry said in wonderment. "I never even noticed anything weird about him."

"It's not like he's mentally ill or anything," Cassie pointed out. "He just fancies different people than you. Probably makes him a good friend, actually, you never have to worry about competition."

"This is true…"

Enough people had entered by this point for the boy under discussion to call out, wincing and adjusting his sound levels as he did, "Welcome to Hogwarts' Unofficial Ball! The Ministry decided it was too much of a risk, so we're having one anyway…"

"Doesn't mean we're going to be quiet about it though!" Katie added. Enthusiastic cheering answered that statement. Dumbledore was perched on a truly incredible magical keyboard/organ, and was looking exceedingly pleased with himself. Flitwick had a miniature guitar, and Katie added the last tunings to her base as Hagrid hit the first beats of a song.

The people closest to the magical speakers around the room backed away hurriedly as the music rose up. McGonagall disapprovingly lowered them by half volume, then sighed and raised them almost back to full again at Dumbledore's puppy eyes.

They'd decided to open with one of the most popular songs on the Wireless, as opposed to one with a dance beat, hoping to get everyone fully excited. The floor was immediately full, and numerous people stared at Justin in shock. The normally proper, responsible prefect was belting out the screaming lyrics like he'd done it his whole life.

With the dance having gotten off to a roaring good start, Katie switched momentarily with Cho Chang, who picked up a violin with the care that people usually only showed to babies or kittens. She started them off with a long, stirring chord that had some couples rushing to the floor, others hastily leaving it. There weren't many who had mastered Card's Tango yet.

To Ryua's complete surprise, Harry caught her arm, pulling her back towards the centre of the room. "I am going to thoroughly enjoy doing this with you, instead of Card…" he whispered in her ear.

"You learned to Tango in… three days?" she asked, a slow grin crossing her face.

He shrugged, grinning. "I didn't want to disappoint you, after all the worry it took to actually ask you." His hands were cool from nervousness, despite his carefree attitude, as he slid them onto her shoulders.

Ryua's arms automatically came up to match his, and then the guitar and keyboard joined Cho's violin, and the music really started.

It took all of five seconds for her to realize just how much she enjoyed dancing with someone she enjoyed touching. Dancing with Card had been exhilarating, the way a really excellent Quidditch match was exhilarating. Dancing with Harry, well, that was completely different.

She had been pretending the attraction before, just for show. This time, her heart was pumping, her blood rushing through her body, drowning out everything but the music, and him. Voldemort could have walked through the big double doors, and she wouldn't have blinked twice.

Somehow, she'd never noticed just how close the pairs got during the dance, how very, very close… and each time his hand brushed over her body, it sent delightful tingles through her. When the music stopped, she was swept with disappointment, tinged heavily with relief. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to keep that close contact in public much longer… but oh, she wanted to…

The music started up again, another of the popular songs for Justin to sing, and she shook herself awake. "That was fun," she said, grinning breathlessly.

"I think that was an understatement," Harry chuckled, breathing just as heavily as she was. "I need something to drink, you?"

She nodded, following him to the refreshment table, where Ron and Hermione were watching wide-eyed. "So, that's what you've been doing lately, mate," Ron said, looking slightly shocked.

"That's definitely a completely un-arguable statement of your feelings about each other," Hermione said, glancing around the room. "If you're planning to go anywhere somewhat isolated tonight, I'd suggest bringing a wand."

"I'm never without it," Ryua said, fingering the tip of it held inside her sleeve. "And I could handle myself without one… And that's even assuming anyone's going to try anything." Hermione just looked at her, and Ryua rolled her eyes. "Alright, we'll be careful… thank you, Harry,"

He'd maneuvered around Ron and dished up two glasses of punch during the conversation, which Ryua gratefully drank. And then almost choked when Ron, blunt and tactless as ever, said, "Honestly, it looked like you two were just going to strip off your clothes and go at it…"

"Not in public, Ron… I'm saving that for later," Harry said, grinning widely, trying to cover up the brilliant pink his cheeks had gone. Hermione promptly smacked both of them, and dragged Ryua off.

Ryua was laughing as she downed the rest of her drink and set it on a tabletop, where the empty glass promptly vanished. "You don't have much patience with them, do you?" she asked, grinning.

"Patience? With that? How crude can you get…" Hermione growled. "Ron was _completely_ out of line! Both of them were!"

"Oh, relax a little," Ryua chuckled. "Nobody was hurt…"

"Maybe not physically…" Hermione began, shrilly.

"Or emotionally or egotistically or whatever," Ryua said firmly, touching a finger to her lips to silence her. "I don't mind. I'm happy I have people who are willing to tease me… and anything else Harry might have in mind. Cheer up."

Hermione looked furious that Ryua would interrupt her during a rant, but didn't run after her to continue it when Ryua walked back towards Harry. "Ron, you need to relax that woman," Ryua chuckled. "She's way, way too tense. But be gentlemanly about it…"

"Gentlemanly. That's about the last word that could possibly describe me," he sighed. "Suppose I have to try though."

"Yes, you do," Harry laughed. "Because I have to live with you both if you mess this up."

Ron looked first angry, then utterly terrified. "She's going to kill me, isn't she?" he asked, looking pleadingly at Harry. "Don't let her kill me…"

Harry rolled his eyes at Ryua, gingerly patting Ron's shoulder. "She won't kill you mate…"

Just at that moment, Card came up behind Ryua silently, making her jump. "You are the only person who can sneak up on me…" she growled, grinning at him.

"Well… since your date is so occupied," he said dryly, gesturing at Harry who was trying not to laugh as he encouraged Ron, "I thought you might like to dance? Dumbledore just announced an informal competition."

"To go with the informal ball?" Ryua asked, grinning at him. "Looking for someone to enter with?"

"I'm looking for someone to win with, actually," Card said. "If you think you're up to the challenge…"

Ryua bowed mockingly to him, taking his proffered arm. On the stage, Dumbledore was announcing the contest would be for a Salsa, fast, intricate, and fun for both the dancers and those watching. Justin and Hagrid had taken a break, Colin Creevy taking over his drum set. A couple of instruments Ryua couldn't name off the top of her head were in the hands of Padma and Parvati Patil, being tuned up.

"Three songs, the judges will narrow it down after each set," Dumbledore said. "Please keep it clean enough that you don't give my dear Minerva a heart attack, and enjoy yourselves!" He grinned cheerfully, nodding at the band assembled behind him.

There must have been thirty pairs on the floor when the music started up. It was a fairly quick song, but relatively slow for a Salsa. Ryua relaxed into the song, letting Card direct their movement, effortlessly matching him in the beginner's beat. They threw in enough fancy steps to impress the judges, but mostly just conserving their energy and steps. The competition would get much steeper in a hurry.

Towards the end of the song, judges in the form of the Head Boy and Girl and several teachers moved through the couples, tapping some to dismiss them. By the time the music drew to a flourishing close, there were half the number on the floor, and they were able to spread out more. And therefore, could dance more.

The next song picked up to a much more entertaining pace, and Ryua grinned brilliantly as Card pulled her into the music. The crowd started clapping with the music this time, a bit of flamenco influence, but nobody minded. The quick tempo ensured that they both actually had to work this time, their steps moving quickly, feet sliding, tapping, stomping on the floor, their arms and shoulders barely moving at all.

Ryua could feel her heart pounding by the end, although not excessively. And by the time the judges had thinned the couples again, there were six left, all looking slightly giddy.

The next song started out so quickly that several people thought Colin Creevy had started having a seizure, until Flitwick jumped in just as fast, the others joining in seamlessly. There wasn't any time to plan, or to think, just movement. Ryua was caught up in the music, her skirt swirling up above her knees with the quick steps and turns, her arms braced on Card's.

He spun her away, and she went into a flurry of spins that left her vaguely dizzy, and glad for his renewed support. Card suddenly, inexplicably picked up the pace, demanding more speed from her, and she managed to quicken her steps to match his, feet barely touching the ground, still managing to complete steps. When the music ended abruptly, she collapsed theatrically into his arms, grinning.

Card smiled back, lifting her back to her feet, spinning her out for an appreciative bow to the audience. There wasn't actually a prize at all, the entire thing was just an excuse for the best dancers to really enjoy themselves, and then clear the floor for those who weren't maybe so over-the-top.

Justin reclaimed the stage, having possibly the best night of his life, being the centre of attention. "Thank you for the dance, Professor Greenbay…" Ryua said, panting slightly, grinning widely.

"It's Card, Miss Malfoy, and it was my pleasure," he said, waving her away with a rare, true smile.

"Well… now I'm jealous," Harry said, coming up behind her and walking with her back to the punch bowl.

Ryua chuckled, turning to look at him. "You have nothing to be jealous about, Harry,"

He smiled, pouring her another glass of punch. "I know that… still jealous though. I had to deal with Ron, and you got to dance…"

She laughed, accepting the drink. "Okay, I see what you mean. Did you make any progress, at least?" Harry pointed over at Hermione, where Ron was standing just out of range of her peripheral vision, bouncing slightly as he tried to work up the nerve to talk to her. "Well… you've done all you can for him now. Time to pay attention to your date!"

"Gladly," he chuckled, slipping an arm around her waist. "Would you like to dance more, or maybe go for a walk?"

Ryua grinned, rather content with both possibilities. "Well… I do like this song. Maybe we could go cool off after it?" Harry smiled, leading her back out onto the floor.

Author's Note: Wow. Finally a chapter. I'm so sorry it took me so long, so I tried to make it nice and long for you.

I'd like to ask people about Justin… How do you all feel about him? And depending on the number of reviews I get, I'll write an intermission chapter about their walk in the garden before they go home…


	41. Garden

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Garden

By the end of a second dance with Harry, Ryua was more than happy to leave the crowded Hall. She did catch a glimpse of Ron managing a fairly decent waltz, Hermione smiling brilliantly at him. "They look like they're enjoying themselves," Ryua murmured in his ear as they wound their way out towards the gardens.

Harry glanced over his shoulder, grinning. "Yeah. Finally."

The night air was shockingly cool, although the teachers had erected a warming dome over the immediate grounds for the night. There was a light skiff of snow, somehow preserved despite the warmth, fat flakes falling softly, lightly through the air. Tracks, filled in with various amounts of snow, showed where people and couples had gone off for a walk.

The music was still easily loud enough to be heard, although muffled by the stone walls and the falling snow. The flakes were a sharp flash of cold, melting almost immediately on their skin. "So… think we're actually going to have people trying to assassinate us tonight?" Harry asked, mostly joking.

"Oh, quite possibly," Ryua said. "At least trying to turn you purple, or shrink certain portions of anatomy, or any such things. I won't let them hurt you though," she said, wrapping a protective arm around his shoulders.

"Hey! That's supposed to be my line!" Harry protested, laughing.

"But I'm better at it than you," Ryua said, grinning. "And you know it."

"Yeah…" Harry said ruefully. "But that's okay. It's an excuse to keep you by me, eh?"

"I'm all for that," Ryua said, smiling. She leaned against him, soaking up the feeling of just touching him.

She wasn't entirely sure when they just… stopped walking. Sometime after she sent a warning jinx at Theodore Nott, and after Severus glared disapprovingly before stalking away from the two of them. They were just suddenly not walking anymore, standing in a little alcove, stone on two sides, hedge on the third. There was snow on the bare branches of the hedge, thickening it enough to make it impossible to see through.

There was snow on Harry's hair too, she noted absently. It stayed for just a few seconds before melting away, and it left dots of water on his glasses. Irritably, after failing to wipe them clean and dry, he tucked them in a pocket. And now his brilliantly green eyes were clear to the world, looking down at her, making her dizzy, so her arms slid up around his neck, and then his were around her back, and then he was kissing her.

They were barely touching, and even that was making her blood sing in her ears, and when his lips moved on hers, his hair brushing her forehead, she leaned back against the wall, pulling him with her.

The stone was barely cool under her shoulders, although his hands felt hot on her back, pressing lightly on her. His tongue slipped forward, making her body thrill as thoroughly as if he had never done this, caressing her lips. Time stopped, except for the gently searing touch of the slowly falling snow, and everything dropped away. All the fear of the future, all of the horrors of the recent past, and it was just them, and she was warm, and happy.

He broke the kiss for a moment, looking into her eyes. Even half-closed, the green seemed almost unreal, glowing like a cat's or a snake. And then Ryua got bored of romantic metaphors, and pulled him impatiently for another kiss. He smiled softly as he obliged, his lips curving against hers briefly before turning entirely to the task at hand.

Without warning, he stopped again, making Ryua squirm in protest, until she felt his lips start in on her neck, and she tilted her head to the side, sighing softly. Harry seemed determined to touch every bare millimeter of her skin, covering her in gentle kisses interspersed with shocking licks, making her tremble slightly.

He switched direction, working back up the side of her neck, and his lips brushed against her ear, making Ryua gasp ever so slightly. So naturally, he sought to improve on that reaction, working along the gentle curve, nipping lightly at the top of the arc, sliding back down. His tongue caressed the layered curves, making her moan lightly, delightedly.

She could feel him shiver slightly at the sound, and smiled, reaching up, turning his head slightly to the side to return the favor. His hair tickled against her nose, and she reached up to brush it away, feeling him gasp slightly at her cold fingers. She teased him, echoing his movements, although she bit him more, making him shiver, pressing sub-consciously against her.

Silk was really an excellent fabric, she reflected, her hands running smoothly down his back, amazed at how warm he felt to her, with her cold, cold hands. She felt him twitch away from her fingers, which meant he pressed into her, so naturally, she ran her hands back up to encourage the reaction.

And very, very suddenly, the mood switched from sweet romantic to something much more intense. Her heart pounded against his chest, his hands tightening around her waist. He dropped his head, back onto her neck again, much less smooth and gentle this time. His lips pressed hard against her skin, and she didn't bother to hide the soft moan that escaped her.

She felt the graze of his teeth and gasped, encouraging him. He wouldn't… quite… bite her hard enough to hurt, at least not with her tolerance. Her hands slid into his hair, guiding him up, where he nipped sharply on her earlobe, eliciting another moan. Ryua felt him shiver from the sound, increasing his efforts.

His tongue traced the curves inward, making Ryua tingle the whole way down her spine, and she arched against him, hands wrapping up around his shoulders. And then he was back down onto her neck again, working his way down onto her bare shoulder, licking off where the snow had melted. One of his hands slid up her back to the bare skin, caressing her shoulder and arm lightly, his mouth working eagerly down every bare patch.

Ryua found herself wishing that she had a lot more bare skin showing, suddenly. Shivering, she threaded her fingers through his hair, pulling his head up, capturing him in a kiss that left them both breathless, Ryua tilting his head to the side, going after his ear, biting, letting his skin slip through her teeth, making him shudder.

She teased him until he was stifling moans on her shoulder, then ceased, burying her face in his hair, breathing him in. It wasn't until they heard Severus starting to blast apart rosebushes that Ryua brought herself to moving, straightening up. "We should go back inside…"

"I know…" he sighed, not giving any indications of releasing her. "I don't wanna…"

Ryua laughed, squeezing him tightly, and then letting go. "We should, because otherwise, Severus is going to take the opportunity to shower you with chunks of rosebush."

"Oh, fine," he sighed. He still kissed her before he relaxed his hold on her, after which she was glad for his continued arm around her waist. Because she might have otherwise fallen over.

The rest of the evening passed in a pleasant blur, with music and dancing and drinks and food, and lots of meandering walks through the garden. The last dance was, naturally, a slow, calming waltz, and after it, he kissed right there, in front of everyone still awake, and she didn't mind in the slightest. Ryua went off to her dormitory in a pleasant daze, completely happy.

-

It wasn't until the next morning that McGonagall managed to track down a very sleepy, contented Harry at breakfast. "Walk with me, Potter…" she said, nudging him in the shoulder. He swallowed his last piece of orange, and did so, still in his content, cheerful mood.

It didn't last long. "I hope you know what you've done," McGonagall snapped, once they were out of the Great Hall. She kept walking, her stride jarring.

"Er… Professor? I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Ryua, of course," she said, grimly. "What were you thinking, last night?"

Harry blinked. "I… I know that it wasn't the best idea, but she can take care of herself, Professor…"

"Not alone, with Lucius for two weeks!"

"What?" Harry exclaimed, shocked. "She didn't say that!"

Minerva sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "Probably not to worry you..."

"She's going home?" Harry repeated weakly. "After… after… Professor, you can't let her!"

"We have no choice, Potter," she sighed. "Lucius is the Minister. He won't kill her. And he won't harm her seriously, or she'll be able to expose it."

"Are you saying that to make me feel better, or you?" Harry growled. "He can do plenty to her that won't leave marks."

"Don't try and make this my fault, Potter!" McGonagall snapped. "This has nothing to do with me! You knew this was a dangerous idea getting into it! And last night was a serious mistake in judgment! Now, I know it wasn't entirely your fault," she said, forcing herself to calm down. "But the fact remains that she is in for two very unpleasant weeks now."

Harry looked faintly nauseous, and McGonagall softened slightly. "I know you didn't mean for this to get so ugly, Harry. But there's nothing we can do now. Although, I'd advise you talking with her before you all go home?" He nodded, walking much more solemnly back to the Great Hall.

-

"Why didn't you tell me that you were going home?" Harry asked. He'd taken Ryua for a walk outside, leaving tracks behind them in the brilliantly white snow.

"Because if I had, you wouldn't have given me last night," she said simply. "Harry, it was going to come out eventually. And I was going home, regardless. At least this way, I have a reason to defend myself. And something good to think about to keep me from going suicidal."

"What?" Harry asked, panicked.

"Huh? Oh, no, no, I'm not actually going to get suicidal…" Ryua said, smiling slightly. "Don't worry about it. Honestly, don't worry. I'll be perfectly fine. He'll probably have Ministry aides running all over the house anyway."

Harry still didn't look convinced, so Ryua decided to kiss him to stop any more protests. And since she enjoyed that so much, she didn't stop, but slid her arms around his waist, pulling him against her.

Harry's protests did indeed fly right out of his head, although he vaguely wished for something solid to lean against, because she was making him slightly dizzy. And then abruptly, she pulled away, starting to walk back to the school. "Come on, we have to finish packing."

She refused to go anywhere alone with him after that, not giving him a chance to try and change her mind. Although down in the dorms, she had a different problem to deal with. "Draco, you're staying here."

"I'm not letting you go home to spend the holiday alone with HIM!" Draco hissed furiously.

"And I'm not letting you get involved," Ryua said coolly. "Draco, I can't stand it when he hurts you. When any of them hurt you. You'll be safe at Hogwarts. If I don't have to worry about you, it'll make this a lot easier."

"You… this is a terrible idea…" Draco said, working his way quickly to pleading now. "He'll kill you."

"No, he won't."

"He'll make you wish you were dead."

Ryua was silent for a moment. "But I'll manage. So stop trying to convince me I shouldn't go. I don't want to go, but I have no choice, alright?"

"You always have a choice," Draco snapped.

"Not this time! If I don't go, he'll find some way to close the school. And even if he doesn't go that far… I'm underage. I've been through a really horrible ordeal, in the views of the outside world, home is the _perfect_ place for me to be!"

"But it isn't, and you know it," Draco protested.

Ryua spun to face him. "Stop it! Of course, I know I shouldn't go home. But I'm going to have one hell of a time convincing anyone of that! This way, you're safe, the school's safe, I'm the only one who gets trouble. And I'll manage, I always do."

"I know," he sighed, looking very tired and sad. "I just hate letting you go without me there to take care of you."

"I'll. Be. Fine." Ryua said, coming over and hugging him. "Please, just let me go, it's awful to have everyone trying to convince me out of it. Stay here, have a nice vacation with Ashley, and practice your occlumency at least twice a day, hmm?"

-

Harry had managed to spread the word to her Gryffindor friends, along with the fact that she wasn't going to change her mind. So although Hermione insisted on a hug, and Ron looked anxious, she didn't have to deal with any more arguments about it. The ride on the train was quiet, although Ryua had never minded quiet.

And Lucius was there on the platform, smiling cheerfully. Ryua privately wondered if anyone else saw him as just posing for the people watching. "Hello, father," she said, her own smile empty, plastered on her face.

"Ryua," he said, a patronly hand resting on her shoulders. "I have such a lovely, quiet time planned for you. You'll feel better in no time."

"I'm sure I will," she said, letting him lead her away.

Author's Note: I'm so, so sorry it took so long. I've been having family troubles, and haven't gotten anything accomplished for ages. I should be updating quicker now, though. Fight scenes are so much fun to write…


	42. Home for Holidays

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Home

Ryua sighed when the train pulled to a stop. Sure enough, Lucius was standing on the platform, back by the private floo stations. There was the prerequisite gaggle of fangirls, and a handful of reporters, and two Aurors, as bodyguards clustered around him. "I _so_ don't want to go out there to have my picture taken," Ryua grumbled.

"You could still come home with us then," Ron offered. "Mum'd be thrilled to have you."

She grinned at him. "Thanks, Ron. But no, it's home for me… I'll just have to live with the reporters and bodyguards, hmm?" She didn't tell them that Lucius was planning to ban everyone from the mansion, to 'give her a more relaxing environment.' "Now, don't go making a scene, that will _not_ help." She kissed Harry on the cheek and hugged Ron, Hermione, and Ginny on the way out.

Her smile turned mechanical as she stepped off the train, having absolutely no luggage with her. The clothes on her back would do until she got home and could see what was left of her wardrobe, or Narcissa's. Or even Draco's. Plus, this way he had nothing to hold her ransom with. She'd even finished up or gotten her teachers to let her out of her homework.

If Lucius was disappointed to see her empty-handed, he didn't show it. He smiled, although it was less mechanical and more gleeful than Ryua's. "I am looking so forward to spending some time with you, my dear."

"Oh, me too, father," Ryua said lightly, forcing down a shudder when he put an arm across her shoulder. The too-perfect smiles and father-daughter greeting proved too much for the reporters to take, and they had to endure several flashes from wizard cameras before they were allowed to move.

And then they were finally off of the platform, and into the floo rooms. "I'm not giving you my wand," she said quietly, because she knew the bodyguards would be following them, at least for today.

"I didn't expect you to be that trusting," he said. "Although, why the absence of anything else?"

"I don't have anything else," Ryua hissed. "You cursed me out of the house, everything I had was left there."

"Oh, of course you'll be able to get your things back now," Lucius said reassuringly, for the benefit of those waiting just outside the door. "I'm sorry the summer was such a horrible mess, but I'm sure we can make up for it now."

"Of course," Ryua echoed, taking a pinch of powder and flinging it down. "Malfoy Manor!" she snapped, striding through the green flames, sliding her wand into her hand. She didn't intend to let go of it as long as she was home.

The house looked the same as it ever did. Spotless, rich, well-furnished. It wouldn't do to have the Minister living in a bachelor suite, naturally. Lucius was right behind her, and the bodyguards right behind him. "You may both go to your posts now. I seriously doubt anything will be attacking us in our own home." He said smoothly. "And my daughter needs to relax."

Ryua knew her smile was forced when he rested a hand on her shoulder. Luckily, that just encouraged the theory that she needed to relax. The Aurors nodded, one saying, "If you need anything, Minister, ma'am, just give a shout."

"I'll be sure to, if I need anything," Ryua said, nodding. And then Lucius gave them a look, and they left. And then they were alone. "So. Do you have a reason for wanting me home, or should I just go with my instincts?"

"Oh, you wound me, Ryua," Lucius said, placing a theatrical hand over his heart. "Surely it's not too much to believe that I simply wanted a pleasant family Christmas?"

"Uh huh." Ryua said dryly. "Am I expected to put in an appearance at regular intervals to keep the press happy?"

"Naturally. And you might want to send an owl to your… friends, to reassure them that you're still alive." Lucius said with distaste. But there wasn't much inflection on that word, so Ryua hoped he hadn't heard about Harry yet.

"Then you should avoid breaking my hand again?" she said sweetly. "It never did heal right, you know."

"I wasn't concerned, somehow."

She glared, then very purposefully turned her back on him and walked out the door. Inwardly she sighed. She was going to need a whole other holiday after this just to tame her paranoia. She was already subconsciously starting shield spells in her head, and figured she wouldn't really let them go for the next two weeks.

She did get up to her room without incident. Probably trying to lull her into a false sense of security, Ryua thought disdainfully. Well, she hadn't ever felt secure here in her life, she wasn't about to start now. She started in on spelling her door while she still had a wand and full reserves, putting every locking charm and sealing curse she knew on it. They'd let her in, and the elves didn't use doors anyway, but it'd keep anyone else out. Namely Lucius.

There were some clothes left in her closet. Most of them were irritating dresses, suitable for a highblood daughter of a noble house. Lucius had gone through and cleaned out most of her other clothes, the pants and shirts and anything comfortable and casual. Oh well.

Ryua glanced quickly out the door, then eased herself out, and down the hall the short distance to Draco's room. His room was locked. "Damn…" Ryua grumbled. She'd been hoping to get some of his robes at least. None of them required a corset.

Corsets, Ryua had decided, were one of the cruelest inventions ever inflicted on the female gender. Not only were they uncomfortable, but terribly restrictive, and hampered your movements and breathing. Although, you could hide a slender dagger along them and it'd never be seen. With that thought in mind, Ryua went looking for one.

The only weapons Lucius had displayed around the house were massive, the smallest being a pair of longknives almost the length of her arm. So carefully, her wand still drawn, she crept to the basement, into the inheritance stores. Sure enough, there had been enough wily women in the Malfoy line to have several ladies' weapons, including a pair of muff pistols, that regrettably had no powder. Or bullets. But there was a case of matching daggers, all flat, one-piece knives without cross-guards, meant to be hidden in a boot, corset, garter, or done-up hair.

"Great grandmother Rosemarie…" Ryua chuckled. "I'd like to borrow these if you don't mind," she murmured, reading the engraved initials on the flat handles. The tarnished silver would have to be polished, and the blades re-sharpened after at least a century of neglect. But that wouldn't be a problem, she'd just swing by the kitchen on her way back and ask for something to do that with.

A few minutes later, armed with the box of knives, a set of magical, self-oiling and cleaning stones, and a silver polish, Ryua seated herself cheerfully on her bed and started learning how to sharpen things. It came to her almost as naturally as cursing things did, and she fell into a sort of trance, the smooth, slick stones fitting easily in her palm, sliding down the length of the blades, curiously heavy in front.

It didn't take her long to realize that was so they could be thrown, and always land point first. Experimentally, she picked up the knife she had just finished sharpening carefully by the point, hefting it a few times. She glanced at the wall, raising it back behind her ear and flicking it forward. It stuck with a satisfying thunk, although a little farther left than she'd wanted.

Grinning, Ryua jumped up and pulled it out, noting happily that the blade was completely undamaged, a clean, thin slit in the wall marking where it had rested. Definitely throwing knives. She set it to the side, working her way through the rest of them, three small ones with jeweled hilts and stiffened sheathes to use as hair pins, one slightly larger with a sheath for the front of a corset, two larger yet for a pair of boots, and one almost ten inches long for her back.

By the time she'd finished polishing them, she was feeling downright cheerful, and started practicing her aim. Training with the Quaffle meant her mind already worked in the proper way, and it didn't take long for her to improve to the point of hitting within three inches of her mark. Then, she decided she should maybe put in an appearance to keep Lucius happy.

She looked through the closet, pulling out a green dress with a long, tight-fitting over vest, trimmed with grey fur. Sighing, she called an elf. Corsets needed assistance, and there was no way that thing would fit over even her own small frame without one. "At least it isn't too bad of one," Ryua grumbled. She'd seen the portraits of her great grandmothers and farther back with waists that had been cinched to less than a foot around. Still, it restricted her breathing, and severely restricted her movements. She'd have to practice bending and reaching all over again.

And getting dressed too, apparently. Toppy also had to tug the dress down over her shoulders, settling it around her now very curved form, and lace up the vest. When Ryua innocently handed her the knives, Toppy grinned slightly, sliding them into the appropriate sheathes, front and back, adjusting the lacing to make it possible for her to reach the hilts. Sitting Ryua on the bed, and climbing up onto the headboard, Toppy twisted her hair up into a graceful updo of some sort, securing it with two of the pin-knives. "And you is ready, miss," Toppy said proudly.

"Thank you, Toppy," Ryua said, standing up, wavering a little. She picked up her wand from the bedside table, sliding it halfway into her sleeve, ready to use at a moment's notice. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and paused, taken aback. Her normally light, almost masculine figure was gently curved in the centre, her waist looking almost unnaturally small. And she had cleavage. Not much, but it was definitely there, also thanks to the corset. "I look like a girl…" she giggled. There was one faint scar visible on her front, and two on her back, but they wouldn't be immediately apparent unless you knew they were there. Which she did, and Lucius, but nobody else likely would.

Another elf popped in at that moment to say that dinner with a few ministry guests was imminent, would she please make herself look appropriate and come down to greet them. Ryua nodded, dismissing them both. Putting an appropriately gracious smile on her face, she left her room, going to the Entrance Hall, where Lucius was waiting. He nodded once over her appearance, then turned to face the floo chamber.

It was just a small group, only a half dozen including herself and Lucius. The Head of International Cooperation, his lovely wife, who's name completely escaped Ryua, the Auror Detachment Head, and the witch who was in control of balancing Muggle affairs with the increasing needs of the Wizarding community. Privately, Ryua wondered how much longer she'd have a job, before Lucius cut out all Muggle support.

Ryua was peeved to find that a corset also prevented her from eating as much as she'd have liked to. Which was probably the point, it made her look more frail and ladylike. Still, the elves had outdone themselves, and the guests enjoyed themselves immensely. Ryua barely registered much of the evening, running on well-trained autopilot of how to behave at a semi-formal dinner of important guests. She was exceedingly aware of all times at her father, at the head of the table, his charisma flowing out like a cloud, charming people all over the place. It did make her excited, but in a way rather different than the others. It aroused her bloodlust.

Eventually, they all left, Lucius engaging in some fun, platonic flirting with the wife and Muggle Affairs witch, enthusiastically shaking the Head's hand. And then they were gone, and Ryua sighed with relief. "Have you ever worn a corset, Lucius?" she asked, turning to him with a sour expression.

"No." he said dryly. "Why, uncomfortable?"

"That is one way of putting it…" Ryua growled. "Hoping to subdue me from lack of oxygen or something?"

"I have to admit, it had crossed my mind…" Lucius said mildly. "However sure I am that I could handle you normally, it'd make it easier."

"Right," Ryua snorted. "I could take you down unarmed. _And_ wearing the corset. And I'm sure I will, at some point."

"We'll see," he said, sounding unconvinced. "You couldn't let it rest for one day, hmm?"

"You dragged me home," Ryua said, irritated. "Now you have to deal with me."

He smiled silkily. "I would have it no other way."

"I suppose you'll have ground rules for this?" Ryua said, aching just to curse him.

"When we have guests for dinner, or the evening, or any reason, you and I will get along just as people would expect the Minister and his poor, recovering daughter to. You and I will both refrain from leaving any visible marks. And you will always wear presentable clothes."

"Fine," she snapped. "Anything else, or can I go to bed? Must maintain the recovering weakling image, you know."

"That will do for now," he said, amused. Ryua turned around, sweeping out, just as gracefully and theatrically as he would have. To her utmost relief, there was an elf waiting to unlace her outfit when she got to her room, and she was shortly breathing deeply, trying to replenish her oxygen, and stretch her aching ribs. This was going to be an interesting two weeks.

Author's Note: Wow, another chapter, and not a full month later! Does anyone have any thoughts on what they'd like to see in the next little while? Either here, or at the Order, or anything?


	43. First Fight

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

First Fight

The next day, Ryua did send an owl to her friends, or rather, to Hagrid's hut, where Hedwig would pick it up and deliver it the rest of the way. She didn't trust the Malfoy owl going to the Order Headquarters, somehow. It was a short, to the point sort of note, saying that she was here, safe, had her wand, and Lucius had no intention of killing her. She didn't detail that he would likely torture her to the point of wishing she were dead, of course. They didn't need to know that.

She wore the least restrictive dress in her wardrobe that day, one with flowing skirts and an empire waist, so the corset didn't need to be quite so tight. Although she was offended by the very idea of having to wear the corset, she had to admit she liked wearing nice clothes again. With a knife on her back, one hidden in a tight sleeve, and her wand in the other, Ryua felt ready to face the day, and went down for a light breakfast.

Naturally, Lucius had timed his arrival in the dining room to coincide with hers, and he smiled rather smugly to see her all done up properly. "The blue suits you, Ryua."

"Why thank you, Lucius," she said pleasantly, sitting at the table. It was impossible to have bad posture while corseted, so she looked just as prim and proper as he would have liked. The dress was a pale blue, the exact shade of his eyes, so it was naturally the exact shade of hers too. It did suit her, bringing out the icy blue in her eyes, complimenting her pale skin and hair.

She ate as fully as she could, without feeling too stuffed. Something about the tension in the room today told her she probably shouldn't be over-full. "You aren't expecting any visitors today, are you." Ryua said it as more of a statement than a question.

"No, I wasn't," he said, smiling slightly. Neither of them was sure who moved first, but Ryua was suddenly leaping back from the table, wand drawn as Lucius came around his side of it, chasing her. She kicked off the useless, pretty house slippers, leaving her in bare feet and better traction, holding her skirts up to her knees with one hand. Nimbly, she skipped sideways, dodging his first spell, sending one of her own back at him.

He blocked it, sending the thing ricocheting off to pulverize the top half of a chair, a quick succession of electric charms emerging from his wand. Ryua dropped to the ground, two passing over her head, rolling to the side to avoid the third, wincing as the corset bit into her waist. Furiously, she sent a jet of fire at him, smiling grimly as he hastily shed his outer robe, quenching the flames still clinging to him with his wand. She scrambled back upright while he was occupied, sending a bludgeoning charm, hitting him solidly in the chest, sending him flying back into the wall.

She heard a rather satisfying crunch when he hit, and his face went ghostly pale, clutching at his side where she'd snapped a couple ribs. Unrelenting, she kept on him, grinning maniacally as she sent spell after spell, keeping him on the defensive.

Lucius looked at his daughter with new eyes, something approaching respect in his manner. He was barely managing to block, and every movement sent pain shooting through his injured side. Stumbling into a sideboard, his free hand scrabbled over it, seizing an ornate silver figurine and hurtling it at her, hoping to distract her enough to get off an offensive spell again.

It caught Ryua in the shoulder, and she half-spun away from the impact, hissing at the bruises she knew would appear later on. But there wasn't a break in her casting, only a more furious intensity, her eyes darkening with rage, cheeks flushing slightly.

_Shit,_ Lucius thought to himself, the sentiment easily visible on his face. He might have set rules about no killing or maiming, but once Ryua got into this mood, there's no way she'd remember that. Or care if she did. The look of fury in her eyes was washed with an unholy sort of glee, one he recognized all too well. It was mirrored in his when he held someone useless on his own wandpoint.

"Crucio!" she spat suddenly, and Lucius fell back against the wall with a scream. Ryua came forward slightly, smiling, looking utterly content and pleased with herself. "Lucius, Lucius… you just don't learn, do you? I'm too much for you to handle now, old man."

He glared up at her as if to dispute the truth, trying to work through the pain, although he knew it was impossible to do so. "And it's too late for you to just leave me alone. You see… I learned from the best there is," Ryua chuckled, running a hand almost tenderly down his cheek. "And now, I like doing it it. I like it a lot."

Lucius looked up at her in horror, suddenly realizing just what he'd turned his daughter into. One of the very few people in the world capable of besting him, and with a thirst for blood that might even exceed his own. And he was stuck in the same house with her for the next two weeks. Of his own design, no less.

Ryua laughed gaily at the look on his face, letting the spell drop for a moment, thoroughly enjoying how he slumped limply against the sideboard, shuddering helplessly. Then, she resumed the spell, smiling at the sound of his screams, soothing her fury at all he'd done to her in the past.

With an almighty effort Lucius was surprised to find himself still capable of, he forced a shock of raw magic back up the spell at her. Ryua noticed too late to do anything about it, and opened her fingers to drop her wand. She was too slow, her hand still curled around it when it shattered, exploding, sending stinging splinters of wood into her palm. She dropped backwards with a yelp, clutching her hand, blood starting to seep from the deeper punctures.

He was on her immediately, crushing her to her knees with his wand, smiling nastily. "Silly girl," he said, ignoring the slight tremor in his voice from residual effects of the cruciatus. "You might be improving, but I can still best you. And now you have no wand. That wasn't very smart of you." He twitched his wand, shoving her down onto her hands, then elbows. "Now, say you're sorry, and I'll let you up."

She wrenched her head up and glared at him, her answer clearly evident although the spell crushed her past the point of speaking. A real smile crossed Lucius' face. "I did hope you'd feel that way about it," he said, thoroughly enjoying having her under his control, helpless. Her injured hand was slowly trickling blood, her loose hair disheveled and pooling down on the floor, framing her pale skin, the corset biting cruelly into breasts and waist.

Ryua jerked suddenly, then collapsed as his spell crushed her in response. Lucius felt a sudden blow in his shoulder, rocking back slightly. He looked down and was in complete shock to see a small silver knife hilt there. "Now, where did you get that?" he asked curiously. "Probably an inheritance from one of your great aunts, I suppose?"

With a strained smile, Ryua heaved against the spell, forcing herself up to her knees, reaching back for the second knife. Lucius' hold on her was weakening as the pain from the knife started to distract him. He flung her backward with a quick jinx, wrenching the knife free and letting it drop to the floor while he raced to heal it before she recovered her balance.

He looked up to see Ryua almost on top of him, a second, longer knife held point down in her left hand. A blade that long would be deadly if it lodged, not just painful. He scrambled backward, right hand reaching out to catch her left wrist. Quidditch had made her stronger than he thought any girl had a right to be, and he had to fight a lot harder just to keep it away from his throat than he expected.

A kick, hampered and weakened by her skirts, sent a flare of pain through his knee, and Lucius stumbled slightly. Ryua's knife flashed forward, grazing a thin line down his neck and shoulder before he reached up, fingers fisting in her pale gold hair, wrenching her head backwards cruelly. Her throat was squashed by the sudden pressure, and she tried to gasp for breath, losing her grip on her knife.

Smoothly, Lucius caught it up, pressing the tip just under her rib cage, biting into her tender skin. Ryua didn't gasp, or whine, or react at all, couldn't even glare at him with his hand holding her head back like that. "I would thoroughly love to just slide this right into you," he said silkily, smiling down at her vulnerable form. "But it would cause such a mess on the floor."

Ryua hooked one of her legs around his, yanking to the side. Her angle was bad, and she couldn't get any sort of real leverage, but it was enough to make him stumble, the knife slip up onto her sternum where it couldn't do any damage. She channeled the pain into a shove, pushing him back, letting her fall to the floor.

She hit hard, but forced herself to roll upward, struggling to stand up, feeling blood trickling down her stomach from the light cut on her chest. Her good hand cupped for a spell, her right held up to shield as best she could, knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him.

It didn't stop her from trying, of course, but her spells just flared uselessly on his shields, and Lucius' attacks smashed through hers after just a few tries. She fell to her knees, screaming, as his first cruciatus made contact. "You should really know better," he said, shaking his head, smiling cruelly. "I might be old, and you talented, but I am infinitely more experienced than you."

Lucius dropped the spell and Ryua fell forward onto her hands and knees, glaring up at him. A part of her reflected how odd it was that all of this seemed perfectly normal, somehow. Her family was so very, very messed up. She'd have articulated some of her thoughts, except that his spell resumed, and she fell to the floor this time, curling up in a futile attempt to escape the pain, unable to hide the agony.

She lost track of time, the pain coming in waves, calming just enough for her nerves to recover, then resuming again. She fought down a wave of intense nausea, her throat burning from screaming constantly. And then it stopped abruptly, the sudden stop almost more painful than the curses had been. It wasn't for a good fifteen minutes that she was really aware of anything, and by then she was in her own bed, an anxious house elf perched beside her, patting her forehead with a cool cloth. "Ah, there miss is," it said soothingly. "Miss has been having a hard day."

Ryua blinked bemusedly at the familiar green face, laughed, and then winced as her head felt like it split wide open. A hard day was one way of putting it. "Was there anything left of my wand?" she asked in a soft whisper, her throat refusing to tolerate anything louder.

The elf, Toppy, Ryua finally realized, sadly held up a handful of bloodstained slivers. "Nothing useful, miss."

"Either knife?"

Toppy produced the tiny one from a fold in her dishcloth, cleaned of Lucius' blood. "Master is keeping the other one, miss, but this one is hiding under the cupboard, where only Toppy could see."

"Anything is better than nothing," Ryua said, lifting her injured hand with a wince. It was rather raw, although she could feel that Toppy had pulled out all the slivers.

"Miss should try not to make Master so angry," Toppy sighed, laying her tiny hand over Ryua's bruised shoulder, cooling and soothing the swelling.

"Not my fault," Ryua pouted. Well, it was, she reflected, but Lucius started it. "Hey, Toppy..."

"Yes miss?"

"Do you have a pair of scissors?" Ryua asked, gently probing the top of her head, where Lucius had pulled out a good chunk of hair.

-

Ryua didn't leave her room until supper, when Lucius demanded her presence. Toppy had said he was alone, so Ryua put on a school uniform, not her choice of outfits, but at least she didn't need a corset.

Lucius' mouth dropped open slightly when Ryua came down the stairs. Ryua, for her part, acted like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, sat down at her end of the table, and started eating.

"What have you done to your hair?" Lucius finally managed to say.

"Mmm? Oh, I cut it," Ryua said calmly.

"Cut it?"

"Yes, cut it," she said, smiling sweetly. "I thought it was time for a change." Considering that up until that moment, she'd had four feet of thick golden hair, this was somewhat of an understatement. She'd cut it to an inch short, over her whole head.

"I liked it better before."

"Yeah, because you could grab it," Ryua agreed. "I'll keep it short, thanks. Am I going to get another wand?"

"The day you leave," he said, sipping a glass of wine.

"I figured, somehow," she said, eating her four-cheese cannelloni neatly and efficiently. "What about my knife?" she asked, delicately slicing off bites of the pasta.

"Oh, I think I'll be keeping that," he said.

"I like that knife."

He smiled coolly at her. "Is that a threat?"

"Possibly."

_Author's Note: _I am so, so sorry for not updating for so long! My excuse is that I was studying for a play, and I had to memorize lines. I haven't even read for a month now. Plus, I had rehearsal almost every night. But now the play's done, it went excellently, and I should be able to update again!

Anyone have any thoughts about what they'd like to see over Christmas? I know I keep asking, but that's because I want to write chapters people will enjoy...


	44. Kittens

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Kittens

Ryua finished her food with a sense of relief, and stood up to leave. Inside, she cursed as her legs shook under her. She'd managed to keep herself together enough to walk downstairs, to eat the meal and rise to Lucius' verbal barbs all throughout. Now, her body was flatly disturbing to be pushed any farther, the toll of the abuse she'd suffered earlier coming back to haunt her.

Firmly telling herself she could rest as soon as she got upstairs, she smiled at Lucius, saying, "Now, I'm off to bed, Lucius, it's been a busy day for both of us, and I wouldn't want to keep you up. I'm sure you have an important meeting in the morning." Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked as quickly as she could manage for the stairs, hoping to make it up before her legs gave out.

She didn't lean too heavily on the banister, but once in the hallway upstairs out of sight, she nearly collapsed onto the wall. It felt like she was getting old, her bones fragile and her energy constantly low, her body unable to respond as she remembered it doing once. "I'm fine," she growled to herself. "I just need rest. Real rest…"

There was a sound from the stairs behind her, quiet footsteps that made her heart race. She was in no shape to deal with Lucius now, and she knew it. So did he, which was why he was following her. Gritting her teeth, drawing on reserves of energy she hadn't really been aware of, Ryua forced herself to move, leaning unashamedly on the wall as she went.

It was so far to her room. She'd never really noticed before, when walking the length of the corridor was no more difficult than thinking about it. A part of her mind was counting the footsteps behind her, knowing that Lucius was halfway up the stairs by now.

She would make it. She would. All she had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other. Just a little faster, a little longer steps… He reached the landing. A part of her wanted to push free of the wall, face him proudly on her own two feet, and a smarter part of her said that would be a really dumb idea.

Ignoring him as long as possible, Ryua continued to walk down the corridor, wishing she could manage a higher speed. If she could get to her room, the wards would keep Lucius out, especially since he wasn't in top form himself. She tried to take heart from that thought, but knew with a sinking certainty that he was much more able to win a fight than she.

His footsteps echoed down the corridor behind her, too close now for her to keep her back to him. Carefully, she turned to face him, still at least twenty paces from her door. Her hands were already weaving a shield spell, even though she suspected her depleted magics wouldn't be up to stopping a lightly thrown pebble at the moment.

Much to her shock, Lucius tried a completely different track. "Imperio," he said, his voice firm and confident as his wand pointed at her. In the class where Barty Crouch had cursed them, Ryua had no trouble shaking off the effects of the curse, but she didn't expect how much being tired would effect it.

The soothing, comforting effect of the curse washed over her, lifting her aches, making her aware of her exhaustion even more strongly than before. She sagged back against the wall, grateful for its support, momentarily forgetting why she suddenly felt so good. Until the gentle whisper started. "Come to me, Ryua."

Her eyes snapped open. "No," she breathed, backing away from Lucius, towards her room. "Get out of my head."

"Please, Ryua, go to him…" Draco's voice echoed in her mind, shocking her. She hadn't realized it was possible to change the feel of that so-soothing, convincing voice. Three steps forward before she gained control of her body again, and the effort almost made her collapse.

"Ryua!" Narcissa's voice, pleading. Ryua's jaw set and she stumbled backward, her hand going for the small knife she'd tucked in her waistband. Lucius has miscalculated on that one, and the realization was clear in his eyes.

"You can't control me, Lucius," Ryua hissed, trying to shake off the clinging fog, her knife held in a trembling hand.

His face twitched with a hint of anger, and the soothing fog doubled in strength. "Put down the knife, Ryua," A tone of someone used to having people do what they ask, a voice Ryua didn't mind following… Dumbledore. Ever so briefly, she doubted that Lucius could actually do Dumbledore, maybe it was him speaking… The knife clattered to the hardwood floor, the sound shocking her brain back into control.

"Get out!" she whispered, forgetting the knife, knowing if she bent down to get it, she'd never get up. Slowly she moved backward, Lucius' damned curse numbing her limbs, until she fell to her knees, unaware she'd stopped moving for a moment.

Suddenly, he was so close. So tall above her on her knees, his expression so pleased, Ryua unable to lift so much as a finger to stop him. His hand reached down, so slow, so slow… and abruptly her cheek was on fire, he'd slapped her and she hadn't even seen it coming.

Another blow, to her other side, not quite hard enough to bruise, just enough to sting even through the Imperius fog. She sensed him winding up for another blow, and there was a loud crack, and a faint, light sound Ryua missed the first time around. Lucius' hand never fell, and Ryua forced her bleary gaze up to his face.

Lucius looked completely livid. The cushioning effects of the curse fell away, and Ryua was suddenly wide awake, and in pain. She resolutely stifled even the smallest gasp, looking curiously at Lucius. His gaze was fixed on her lap, and Ryua dropped her head down to see what he was staring at.

Something fluffy and white was there, and Ryua was at a loss of how it could have made Lucius stop so suddenly. She picked it up, discovering the ball of fur had legs and a tail and a definite head. The kitten meowed softly, blinking slowly at her. "What?" She had absolutely no idea what the significance of a kitten could be.

Without uttering a word, Lucius turned furiously on his heel, sweeping down the corridor, and she heard him go down the stairs. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryua set the cat down to stand up. As she got to her feet, it took off down the hall, disappearing around the corridor. She had no energy to chase it, and stumbled the rest of the way to her room.

She closed the door, setting her wards from the inside, and fell onto her bed, exhausted. And sprang back with a yelp as she fell on somebody. "Evening," Professor Card said, with that trademark smirk of his.

"Card!" Ryua gasped. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

"You know, that could be taken so many ways," he said, chuckling.

She shook her head in frustration, sitting tiredly on the end of her bed. "Don't you ever take anything seriously?"

"I take everything seriously."

"I'm not up to any dirty activities tonight, so just answer the question the way I meant it?" Ryua said, not energetic enough to spar with him. It was easier just to play his word games.

"I figured you needed some help," he said, sitting up.

She scowled slightly. "I don't need anyone's help."

"Ah, yes, you were doing such an excellent job a few minutes ago…"

"Hey, it's the second time today!" Ryua protested. "I was tired."

Card grimaced slightly. "I didn't know you were going home until Dumbledore told me after my last assignment, or I'd have been her sooner. As it was, I didn't get here quick enough."

"Quick enough for what?" Ryua asked, blinking.

"To stop Lucius from giving you another beating."

"Stop… You sent the cat?" He nodded, looking quite pleased with himself. "What's with the cat?" Ryua asked, confused.

"I turned Lucius into one once," he said, pulling Ryua gently down onto her pillow.

Ryua paused, not entirely sure she'd heard that right. "You… turned my father into a cat?"

"A fluffy, white kitten to be exact," Card said, chuckling. He pulled her covers deftly over her, shifting to the edge of her bed. "Now, tell me what hurts."

"Ah… my shoulder, and hand… wait, quit distracting me. When did that occur?"

"Oh, just before Dumbledore started interviewing me for the job. I wanted to be certain Lucius knew just what I thought of his electoral campaign."

"Pity it… didn't keep him from being elected," Ryua said, stifling a yawn in the middle of the sentence.

Card smiled, his hand passing over her shoulder, down to her hand, and then up to cup her cheek briefly. "He knocked a tooth loose too," he mused, concentrating as he reinforced it.

Ryua sighed as the aches she'd mostly been ignoring melted away. "Oh, I think I might love you…"

"If I had a dime for every time I heard that…" Card chuckled, then laughed out loud when Ryua smacked him. It probably would have hurt him, if she'd been awake or coordinated enough to manage it. "Now you go to sleep. And I'll set a charm, so when Lucius gets particularly nasty, something nearby will grow fur and a tail, and start purring."

Any other time, she might have tried to argue that she didn't need help. But right then, Ryua was far too sleepy to care, and drifted off before he'd even left her room. Not that she was entirely certain how he'd gotten there in the first place.

_Author's Note:_ I know, it's short... but it's a chapter! My excuse is I've been writing a second fic, one that's too adult in rating to post on If you be curious, feel free to ask me about it.


	45. Christmas

Someday, I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by J K Rowling.

Christmas

Ryua didn't wake up until into the afternoon the next day, feeling remarkably refreshed, and couldn't remember for a moment why that should be surprising. Then she sat bolt upright, looking around her room, and was relieved to find no trace of her disturbingly sexy DADA teacher.

Toppy popped into place a few moments later, and looked quite happy to see her awake. "Ah, miss, how is you doing today?" the elf asked, setting down a bowl of soup on her side table. "You is looking well."

"I feel pretty well, actually," Ryua said, carefully swinging her legs out of bed, and reaching for the food. "Card knows what he's doing."

"Card, Miss?"

"Yeah, the guy who… oh, never mind," she said, starting in on her lunch/breakfast. "I don't suppose Lucius has some sort of business trip to occupy him over the rest of the holidays, eh?"

"No, miss," Toppy said, shaking her head. "He is out at a dinner tonight though. Oh, and he is saying that you is cutting off your hair for a muggle charity."

"Figured he'd come up with some sappy, good-samaritan excuse," Ryua chuckled, running one hand though her short hair. "I think I like it this way, though."

"It does suit Miss…"

"You'd have to say that no matter what it looked like," Ryua laughed, looking at the mirror. "Toppy… is the colour changing?"

"Changing, miss? To what?" Toppy asked, blinking.

"My hair," Ryua said, frowning. "I can't look at it closely anymore, it's too short. But I think it's maybe going grey. I'm too young to go grey." It was definitely a cooler, slightly darker colour than it had been before, not as pale blonde.

"Maybe the light is funny?"

"Maybe…" she sighed. "As long as I don't go bald…"

Toppy just shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Miss. Finish your food, and then you can read your owls." She set a couple of letters on the bed, and popped away. Ryua picked up the bowl, unceremoniously drinking the rest of her soup right out of it like a little kid, right out of the bowl, and picked up the top letter.

It was Hermione's writing on the parchment, and she read through it happily. She talked about how they were all missing her, and she hoped Ryua wasn't having too much trouble with Lucius, and Mrs. Weasley was kidnapping Draco for Christmas dinner.

She opened the second one, and jumped when a huge package sprang out of the parchment. Upon closer inspection, it proved to be a Weasley Jumper done in silver and black, and a package of Mrs. Weasley's Christmas goodies. The note itself was short, and to the point, wishing her a merry Christmas and such.

The last letter was from Harry, and it made Ryua smile to see his slightly awkward writing. It was short, but made her smile, and he said a couple things that made her hope that Lucius wasn't reading her mail…

With that thought, she decided to reply to the letters. Since they all were at the Burrow, she just wrote one, keeping the tone friendly. She thanked Mrs. Weasley for her candy, and told Hermione that she was happy they were all having a good time together, reassuring her she was doing fine. Harry, she reluctantly didn't say anything she actually wanted to, just wished him a merry Christmas. As an afterthought, she asked him about that muggle movie he'd mentioned. The part about the Sith… Hopefully, he'd get the point, and tell her about that handy blue lightning trick. Even if it was only a muggle invention, maybe she could pull it off…

Deciding there was nothing Lucius could really object to in the letter, she went to go ask for one of the owls, since he kept them locked away in the upper attic of the house in use as an owlrey. "I'd like to send a Christmas letter, Lucius," she said calmly, finding him in his office, going over his own letters to whoever Ministers wrote letters to. "It's been a while since any of my friends heard from me, you know."

He looked calculatingly up at her, wondering if he could get away with not letting her send it, but then apparently realized it would be too suspicious to keep her silent all Christmas. "Of course," he said, holding out his hand for it. Ryua handed it to him, then left, before he could say anything else. Either he'd send it, or not, she wouldn't be able to change his mind much either way.

She went back up to her room then, and sighing, pulled out her homework. There was only Potions and DADA left, she'd saved her two favourites for the end so she wouldn't be bored. Halfway though the Potions research for writing the essay, though, she was feeling decidedly less than cheerful about the whole thing. The workload seemed to triple every year, everything getting more and more difficult. The work was so absorbing that Toppy had to actually come and get her for dinner.

It was an uncomfortable affair, as always, especially with the now familiar corset biting into her ribs, making it impossible to eat much. And then Lucius said something which made her lose her appetite completely. "Gone? What do you mean Ollivander's is gone?"

"I mean just that. He's gone, left Diagon Alley three days ago."

"Lucius, I need a wand! Since you were so inconsiderate as to blow mine up…"

He just looked coolly at her. "I'll take you to another maker's before school."

She just glared at him, thinking maybe she'd see if any of her ancestor's old wands were tucked away somewhere. No one made wands nearly as good as Olivander's did.

When she turned to leave the table after two bites of dessert, she heard Lucius rise smoothly behind her, then a loud pop, an enraged hissing, and a snarl from Lucius. There was a minor explosion, and she turned to see Lucius with his wand pointed at a small crater in the floor, wisps of white fur floating through the air. She smiled serenely, and went upstairs, although she was rather sad Lucius had blown up the kitten… they were cute.

She closed the door, and only jumped a little this time to see Card lounging on her bed. "Thanks for the kitten, by the way… Although Lucius blew this one up."

"I'm making them out of household objects," he said, shrugging. "He's just blowing up his own stuff."

"Sensible," Ryua said with a grin. "So, other than the kitten, any particular reason that you're here?"

"Yes, actually, I'm responding to your letters," Card said with a slight smirk, sitting up. "Molly Weasley sends her love, Hermione and Harry collaborated to send you this," he set a small, magicked TV set on her bed, "Draco told me to make sure all your limbs are still attached… oh, yes, and Harry also sends this…"

He swooped down on her, bending her backward in a dramatic, movie-style kiss, then lifting her smoothly to her feet. Ryua blinked in surprise, going a little pink, then said, "Harry asked you to do that, did he?"

"Well, he WAS thinking he'd like to do it…"

"So you took the initiative," Ryua chuckled. "Brat."

"Now now, it's not smart to call your teacher a brat… I might give you detention." Card said, smirking again. "Anything you need before I go?"

Ryua bit her lip. "Card… Lucius destroyed my wand a couple days ago… and Ollivander is gone. I can't get a replacement."

He looked at her for a moment, thinking. He then reached over to her partially finished DADA homework, reshuffled the papers, and said, "Here. You're excused from that homework, and I'm giving you next month's work now. I'd advise doing it quickly. Now, have a good night!" he said cheerfully, pulling a Black family goblet out of his pocket, which was apparently a portkey as he disappeared without another word.

Ryua stood there, her brain having trouble catching up with the last few minutes. There was something about Card that just didn't fit into reality all the time. She shook herself, and looked down at the now different DADA homework. Across the top were the words, "Non-Core Magical Focuses" A short blurb on using other focuses for magic followed, Card's sword being an example. She smiled slowly, sitting down at her desk to read over it, fingering the longest dagger she had left as she read.

Author's Note: Wow! I acutally wrote something! Yes, it's short, and bounces around a lot... because I can't remember for the life of me why I wrote the last few chapters the way I did, and I'm trying to pull it onto a track I can be interested in again.

... I am considering dumping the whole plot line upside down. Does anyone have anything they'd like me to not change? Because if you don't tell me now, I probably will rewrite EVERYTHING.


	46. Studying

Someday I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by JK Rowling.

Studying

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ryua said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. At least now the stupid pillow levitated more times than it didn't. She'd started in on Card's assignment almost immediately, and found that it was both easier and harder than she'd expected. But after Lucius had cursed her roundly the night after Card's last visit, Ryua took to studying it with a vengeance.

It drew a little more on her than wand-casting did, but the pure silver of the dagger worked beautifully for channeling her magic. Well, at least it did for spells that were best for attacking things. Her Sectumsempra curse had blown clear though the wall and scratched the paint across the corridor.

Naturally, the charms were giving her as much trouble as they ever had, a little more in some cases. A wand worked to even out her abilities, meaning it took some of the effectiveness of her curses and transferred it into charms. Now, it was entirely about herself, and her abilities. She absolutely couldn't change things different colours, or set a music-playing spell anymore.

However… her room was littered with feathers and bits of exploded and shredded things, as her dueling skills went past even her previous bloodthirstily high level. She slipped the now magic-infused silver dagger back into its sheath which she strapped to her wrist, and sat down on her bed to do her second piece of research and practice. Fumbling slightly with the still-unfamiliar remote, Ryua hit the power and play buttons on her tv.

Somehow, utilizing charms that Ryua could never even contemplate using, Hermione had magicked all six Muggle Star Wars movies onto the little tv. The screen was only 6 inches across, but it had magically enhanced picture so she could see every little detail. A fluffy white kitten missing most of his tail jumped up on her bed and started purring. For some reason, this last one had held onto the charm, and adopted her as his human. Although he still had the unnerving habit of changing into a chipped teacup at random intervals.

Somewhat embarrassingly, Ryua had been so enthralled by watching the movies that she'd forgotten her original intent the first time through, and it wasn't until three days after she'd started watching that she remembered she wanted to study that lightning trick. So she asked Toppy to bring all her meals possible up to her room, only coming out for the occasional dinner or guest greeting for important people Lucius brought home.

He'd done that a lot lately, almost every afternoon or evening he had company over. A few Ministers from other countries, and high people from his own Ministry too. Once, he'd brought over Kingsley Shacklebolt, which tickled Ryua immensely, because Lucius was absolutely convinced that the Auror was on his side and ready to be brought into confidence about… things. Ryua immediately replied that she thought Shacklebolt was a dull, pompous ass, which guaranteed that Lucius started to speak with him regularly. She laughed privately for days about that one, especially when Kingsley gave her a discreet wink on the way out after yesterday's afternoon tea.

She often wished he'd hold Death Eater meetings here so she'd have something more useful to do, eavesdropping and such. But Lucius was still new enough in office that he couldn't take the risk, so she couldn't learn a thing about their movements. That left her almost entirely to her own devices.

Hence, practicing dueling with her dagger, since her wand had been shattered, and homework. And once she finished the homework, she started in on watching those movies. This was her third time through, and she finally had seen them enough that she could just fast forward to the points she needed to see.

She tackled it with great enthusiasm, comparing all the characters who'd used it, the effects on both the victim and caster. The drain on Siddious was enough to make her cautious. Ryua wasn't a particularly vain person, but she didn't want to get all hunched and wrinkled and delicate this early in her life. But Count Dooku seemed to have no problems, and Yoda's very brief spate didn't drain him either.

So using it judiciously was the key, she'd decided. And part of the fading of Siddious was from having it bounced back at him, she was sure. And she knew that none of the Death Eaters would be caught dead watching a Muggle movie, so it would be a while before anyone figured out how to counter her.

And this is the way her last few days of Christmas Vacation passed. She woke up the last day in a decidedly cheerful mood, packing the last of her things, mostly the clothes she missed having so much, and anything she could sell for ready Galleons since she'd been locked out of the Malfoy Vaults. She had a nice, long hot shower, was momentarily amused at how fast her hair dried now that it was so short, then momentarily surprised because it had grown another inch since she'd cut it.

However, since fast-growing hair wasn't out of the ordinary for witches and wizards, she ignored it, and went down for breakfast, the last meal she ever planned to spend in this house as long as her father was alive. Her spell-knife was at her wrist, and the rest of the set was packed in with her school supplies, which Toppy came to take downstairs to the Floo room.

It was a few moments before Lucius really looked at her, and he did a double take. "What have you done to your hair now?"

"Umm… cut it? Duh?" Ryua said, grabbing a muffin, privately wishing it was one of Mrs Weasley's.

"Oh, drop the attitude, it's very unbecoming. As is your hair, it's a definite shade of green."

"Green?" Ryua echoed, surprised. She held up a nicely shiny butterknife to study her reflection. It was definitely green. Not brilliant glowing green, but a soft, warm green at the roots, fading to her normal white-blonde. "Now why would it be green?"

"Oh, quit acting innocent. What did you do to it?" Lucius snapped.

"I didn't do anything!" Ryua snapped back. "I couldn't perform a colour changing charm if my life depended on it."

"Especially as you have no wand," Lucius said, a slight smile on his face.

"I don't need a wand," Ryua scoffed.

Lucius' smile broadened. "Was that some sort of a challenge?"

"I'll take any excuse to curse the hell out of you," Ryua said, smiling sweetly.

They were both on their feet in an instant, bites of breakfast left on forks and plates, circling around the long dining room. Ryua was vaguely aware of a house elf charming the dishes so they wouldn't be shattered by the fight that was about to take place and then it ran for cover.

Lucius made the first move, his wand snapping forward, sending a jet of something sizzling and spitting with energy at her. Ryua leaned to the side to avoid it, whipping out her dagger and sending an arc of white light at him. It cut cleanly through the candles and a house plant on the way across the room, and Lucius barely got up a ricochet spell in time, sending it flying up into the ceiling where it carved out a chunk of plaster and wood. He scrambled to the side, avoiding the falling stuff from above, and nearly running headlong into Ryua's next spell.

Ryua was grinning wildly. The spells flicked so satisfyingly and easily from the tip of her dagger, and it was keeping Lucius off-balance to see her so relaxed and easy with it. Although when an impedimentia jinx was sent her way, she discovered that shielding wasn't nearly so easy, and she was thrown back into the wall and dropped to the floor.

Lucius pressed his momentary advantage, leaping nimbly over the table since she'd slipped down behind it out of his line of sight. With a pained yelp, he stumbled to the side, holding his thigh while blood trickled down his leg. He was so unused to fighting with weapons that could inflict physical damage that he'd momentarily forgotten how much damage a six inch blade could do. Ryua was cursing before she even got all the way up, sending him reeling back, coming to a rest against the wall.

He dropped flat to the ground as Ryua called out, "Sectumsempra!" and winced as the wall beside him, two chairs, and a the table were all sliced a foot deep by the spell. And then froze solid, as he felt the cold tip of Ryua's knife, still wet with his blood, press against the side of his neck. "This is your jugular vein," she said softly. "If I cut it, you'll bleed to death within minutes. Faster than I'd care to let you die, but not a pleasant death, and long enough for me to do all number of terrible things to you.

"But luckily for you…. I have school to go to." She continued, sounding as if she regretted having to leave. "And if I were you, I'd think twice before forcing me to come back into this house again." Ryua wasn't gullible or dramatic enough to turn her back on him and sweep out. Slowly, her dagger trained on him the entire time, she backed out of the room, and kept glancing over her shoulder on the way to the Floo room.

She cleaned off her knife on a towel, checked herself for blood spatter in the mirror, and turned to say goodbye to Toppy, who was watching with wide-open eyes. "Miss is leaving now?"

"Yes, I am," Ryua said with a final sounding note to her voice. "Toppy... would you like me to give you some clothes before you leave? I don't want to leave you here with Lucius."

Toppy blinked, then sniffed. "Mistress is kind to think of Toppy, but Toppy's place is here. Miss will someday like to come home, and it is Toppy's job to make sure it is still here waiting for her."

"Aww…." Ryua knelt down and hugged the little elf gently. "You're a good elf, Toppy, and I'm ordering you to not let yourself get hurt or punish yourself on Lucius' orders."

"Thank you Miss, for that order," Toppy said, sounding amused. "Or else Toppy would have to write Miss and ask for clothes."

"Well, feel free to visit Hogwarts if you want. I'll ask Dobby to tell you where I end up staying for the summer, okay?"

Toppy nodded, and Ryua stood up, picking up her things, two suitcases and a backpack, with a fluffy cat head sticking out of the top. She had no idea what happened to her school trunk, it must have gone the same way as her textbooks earlier in the year. Toppy tossed in the Floo powder for her, and Ryua called, "Platform 9 ¾!" before stepping into the fire and leaving the Malfoy Manor forever.

She felt downright elated as she stepped onto the platform. It wasn't nearly as busy as it was at the beginning of term, but there were several families milling about, sorting luggage and kissing goodbye. Ryua stored her suitcases in the luggage compartment, and took her backpack and kitten and went to find a seat.

It was really a delightful little pet, she thought, reaching into her backpack to pet it. For some bizarre reason, he absolutely adored being inside small boxes and bags, especially if Ryua were carrying it. And then abruptly her peaceful kitty snuggling was interrupted by a loud "You're alive!" and a hug that knocked her sideways.

She looked to her side to see Draco, looking healthier than he had in months, grinning and sitting down beside her. "And… you're green… and short…"

Ryua laughed. "It's been an interesting break… how about you? Enjoy life with the Weasleys?"

"I am ready to marry Ginny if it means I get to be one," Draco said fervrently. "Hell, I'm ready to marry Fred or George if his mum makes me those muffins…"

"I think we converted him," Ron said, coming into the compartment, Hermione right behind him. "And why is your hair short? And green?"

"It's short because I was tired of Lucius pulling it out by the roots… and your guess is as good as mine about the green."

"Oddly… I think it suits you," Ron said, peering at it. "Weird."

And then Ginny came in, Neville right behind her, and Harry behind him. "Sorry, Trevor got lost and Hedwig wanted to eat some first year's rat and… "Hey, your hair's green!"

The whole way back to school, all 7 of them stayed crammed into the compartment, laughing, and swapping stories. Ryua tried to introduce her cat, and there was a moment of disturbed silence when she proudly held out a teacup. "Oy! Cat!" she said, prodding it. "Wake up!" There was a cartoony poof of smoke and she was abruptly holding a ball of fur with a tail and legs and big eyes, which purred in a friendly way, looking around at all of them.

By the time they rolled into Hogwarts Station, they were all in extremely high spirits, and even the thestrals seemed cheerful, in a creepy sort of way. And then Ryua shivered in the cold, and everyone laughed because now she had short hair the wind cut through to her scalp. Ginny complained that the carriages should be bigger, Harry remarked that the Thestrals wouldn't be able to pull them, and they all split up into groups for the ride back.

Somehow, Ryua, Harry and Draco all ended up in the same carriage, and she had a moment of apprehension before she realized the two of them were being civil to each other, maybe even friendly. Smiling, she leaned back in the seat, then slightly sideways onto Harry's shoulder, and reflected that maybe right now at this very moment, she could cast a Patronus.

Author's Note: Well….. I guess I first have to say that I apologize for the exceedingly long wait…. I have excuses for chunks of it, but not all of it, so I'm not even going to try. But now, hopefully, I'm back on track and it won't be another half year before the next chapter, eh?


	47. Return to School

Someday I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by JK Rowling.

Return to School

The Slytherin dorms, under the lake in the Dungeons were as cold as they ever were, but Ryua felt immediately at home when she walked to her bed, flopping happily down.

Pansy Parkinson was still there, in a grumpy mood, since Draco had disappeared all Christmas and never once wrote to her. However, Ryua barely even registered that, especially because the other girl scowled and closed her bed curtains early on.

She rolled over, pulling out her pajamas, feeling sleepy and content. The Welcome Back feast had been excellent, and she'd stuffed herself to a ridiculous degree, not held back by a corset for the first time in weeks. She'd gotten at least 50 comments on her hair, most of them positive. She'd have never thought that short hair would be a good look for her, but apparently it was. It had grown to about 2 or 3 inches long now, the green started at her scalp and faded out fairly quickly, almost like when you scraped snow off of the grass in winter, and it was green at the root, pale brown most of the length. The texture hadn't changed in the slightest, except for being so much lighter from being short.

It was way colder now though, she reflected, pulling the blankets over her head. She'd have to get used to that. She reached under her pillow reflexively, feeling the reassuring hardness of her dagger hilt. It was strangely warm now, like it was alive, a byproduct of magically charging it. Her other daggers were safely stored in a box that Dobby had set up with a magical charm so nobody else could open them. Feeling secure and warm, she dropped off to sleep.

.oOo.

Her cheerful mood dissipated when she went to Transfiguration, however. Apparently, daggers didn't work well for changing tennis balls into terriers. She couldn't even get a tribble. After class, McGonagall actually kept her behind. "Miss Malfoy, are you feeling alright? You were having no trouble before Christmas with this, you got your Parrot just a minute after Miss Granger did."

"I think this is the problem," Ryua said, setting her dagger on the desk between them. "Lucius smashed my wand, so I've been using this. I have never been able to curse so well, but…"

"Hmm…" McGonagall mused, picking it up and looking it over. "You've done a splendid job on setting the proper spells to infuse it. I was almost hopeful you'd made a mistake so I could simply correct it and return your previous abilities…"

Ryua sighed. "I was hoping you'd do that too… but I figured I'd gotten it right. You should have seen… erm… some of the stuff I can do with it now." She realized McGonagall probably didn't need to know the duel she'd had with Lucius. "So what does that mean? I can't get another wand… Ollivander's gone, and Gregorovitch has just gone on vacation." It had been in the paper that morning.

She looked at her, thinking hard. "I am reluctant to drop you from the course. You have definite talent for Transfiguration, and you have been improving since we started working with live subjects. Also, it would require you taking up another class to give you enough to graduate, and it is difficult to do halfway through a Term."

Ryua frowned. "This is the only class I should have trouble with… Arithmancy and Potions rarely use wands, and I won't have trouble with DADA… But I need to figure out how to do this class…"

She tilted her head, then summoned a book from a shelf. "This is the current Transfiguration Curriculum." McGonagall said, leafing through it. "I do have one option for you. It would involve a lot more work, as you'd still have to learn all the theory and write the exams of the main curriculum."

"What is it?" Ryua asked instantly.

"I can train you for Animagus powers," she said, handing her the book, open to the last chapter, titled 'Optional Course-Animagus'. Ryua took it curiously, skimming through it as McGonagall talked. "The magic for an Animagus transformation comes entirely from inside yourself. Any magical focus whatsoever can be used, a wand, or your dagger, or a charmed item… anything with magical properties. It is a lot of work, and will take most of your remaining time in Hogwarts to master. However, all logical reasons for doing it aside… It is a lot of fun." She said, smiling.

"Seriously? I could be an Animagus? Just like that?"

"Well, it _is_ a lot of work," she warned. "But a successful transformation automatically gives you your Transfiguration NEWTs at top marks. And I believe it's the only option open to you at this moment."

"Okay!" Ryua said eagerly. "You still want all the regular homework assignments, though, right?"

"All the essays, questions, and tests, yes," she confirmed. "And I'll give you your first Animagus homework tonight. It might take a while, but without the first step, you cannot proceed."

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

"Find your animal," she said. "This is not merely picking any animal you'd like to be. Every person has an animal type they can be. Myself, for example. I'm feline. I am limited to creatures in the cat family, and I could have picked anything from my own tabby form up to a jaguar. It doesn't always necessarily go with species either… Peter Pettigrew's perfect form was a rat… but a toad, cockroach, mouse, or niffler would also have suited him.

"There is also a size restriction. It is possible to go small, as long as you can clearly see every part of the creature without magical or Muggle scientific aid. Therefore, you could be say… a moth, but not a flea. The largest Animagus form was a miniature Elephant, done a century ago by a wizard in Africa. He stood seven feet tall at the shoulder. Still remarkably bigger than a human, but two to four feet smaller than the actual creature.

"It is possible to be a magical animal, but only if it is in your type. I could have become a Nundu if it were my desire to be deadly to everyone in my vicinity. For me, however, a housecat was best. Small, and seen everywhere, so I could go almost anywhere I wanted without arousing suspicion.

"You will have markings, when you transform, although you have no choice over what those are. You do not need to worry about those, although you may start thinking of color and size as well as what you will be.

"You may ask other people what they think your animal type is. If you get a lot of people saying the same thing, you might want to start there. And in my opinion…" she said, looking at her intently. "I think you ought to look towards the reptilian kingdom. Lizards, snakes and dragons, maybe a salamander… or a basilisk… Although one precaution."

"What's that?"

"If you become a serpent of any sort, you will be completely under the control of any Parselmouth in the vicinity, same as any snake. And the effects might still exist at a reduced level even in human form. Considering who is at large at the moment, I might avoid that particular species if I were you."

Ryua shuddered. "Yeesh… point taken… that would not be cool. Well, thanks, Professor. I'll start thinking on it!"

.oOo.

Potions did go as easily as she thought, apparently lighting a small fire was something her dagger enjoyed doing. Since she had a plethora of silver knives now, she had an easy time with the ingredients too, although she avoided using her wand-knife. No telling what odd effects it could have on the ingredients.

Harry found an excuse to walk beside her on the way to lunch, saying, "You know, it's been months since you taught me any spells… Hermione made me promise to ask you about it when we got back to school."

"You're right!" she said, slightly embarrassed about having forgotten so completely. "When's a good night? Something that's not Quidditch or DA?"

"Um… tonight?" Harry laughed. "I think you've got the pitch for two nights starting tomorrow, then me, and then a DA meeting on Friday."

"Okay, then," she said, smiling. "Hey, wanna know something cool? McGonagall's gonna teach me to be an Animagus!"

"That is cool," Harry agreed. "What are you going to be?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. That's my first assignment, to decide on a creature. She said I should ask people what type of animal I seem like, and go for something along those lines. Although she warned me against being a snake."

"Really? Why? That was the first animal that came to mind, actually."

"On account of I would have to obey any order a Parselmouth gave me."

"Hmm… any order, eh?" Harry said, musing the possibilities of that over in his mind. "That could be kind of fun, really…"

Ryua blushed, and smacked him, not especially lightly on the shoulder. "I was actually more worried about Voldemort."

"Oh. Right…" After a pause he said, "But that would be so fun…"

She smacked him again, laughing, and said, "I'll meet you at the Room tonight," as she went off towards her House table.

.oOo.

Arithmancy finished off the day, a sort of a dull class, compared to what had happened in Transfiguration. "Ugh… There is so not enough time to do all the homework," Ryua grumbled, even though she'd spent the free period after lunch doing her Potions essay.

"You could do it up tonight, we've got most of the work done," Hermione said, looking at her curiously.

"No, I promised Harry I'd teach him how to blow things up and such," Ryua said with a sigh. "I have to admit, it's sure to be more fun than doing this."

Hermione giggled. "Especially if you do more than just practice…"

"Hermione!"

"What? I know he's missed you… and you _will_ be all alone in there…"

"Oh, just shut up and tell me what kind of animal I'm supposed to be," Ryua grumbled. She'd told Hermione about the Animagus thing earlier.

Hermione grinned at her, but said, "Well, your name's Ryua Alba, doesn't that mean White Dragon? That's the most obvious choice. Although I could see you as a Salamander, you do enjoy setting things on fire."

Ryua grinned back. "I kind of do, don't I?

Author's Note: Hey, look! A chapter, and it hasn't been half a year! I'm getting better! And the next one will be deliciously fun to write, so it won't be too long till my next update.

I'm curious what you people want her Animagus form to be. I'll take your suggestions, whatever they are, although I'll most likely use one of the ones I've mentioned. The Dragon one is more useful, and more violent, which is good for her. Although a Basilisk or other serpent could have all sorts of naughty consequences, with her boyfriend being a Parselmouth…

And I just have to say… Go Dumbledore! Power to the gays of the world!


	48. Draco's Christmas

Draco was unsure. This wasn't a completely unknown feeling for him, his life had been less than normal lately. At this point, however, he was more unsure than usual. He'd been expecting to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, and in fact, was starting to look forward to just that, when Fred and George Weasley had appeared on the Quidditch pitch where he'd been flying around in the cool winter sun.

"What do you mean, come with you?" he asked, surprised.

"We mean exactly that, Malfoy," Fred had said cheerily. "Our mum's gotten herself all worried about you all alone here in the castle."

"We're taking you home for the rest of the holidays."

And just like that, he was being marched off of Hogwarts grounds, a little bewildered, and maybe a little uneasy. True, he knew Ryua had lived with them all summer, but… he wasn't his sister. It wasn't even like he could ask them to wait while he packed… except for school uniforms and books, he was wearing everything he owned.

"You've been apparated before, right?" George asked, taking hold of his left elbow, Fred grabbing his right. Without even waiting for an answer, they twisted, taking him with them in a nauseating blur of light and colours. He fell to the ground when they arrived, groaning, and trying not to throw up.

"Come on, up you get," Fred said, hauling him up to his feet. "It gets better once you start walking. Plus, Mum's all excited to see you, she'll be annoyed if you're late."

He did feel better once he started walking, Draco realized, shaking off Fred's helping hand after a moment. Once the nausea subsided, he could look around, realize where he was. He wasn't entirely sure he liked the look of the house they were leading him towards… it leaned very unsteadily, and in multiple directions at once.

Still, the smell of fresh cookies wafting from the open window on the lower floor was certainly inviting, and the honest, open look of welcome on Mrs. Weasley's kind face helped to allay the last of his worries. "Draco, I'm glad Fred and George were able to convince you to come," she said, sounding honestly happy to see him.

Before he knew it, he'd been given the softest, warmest hug he could ever remember receiving, settled in an ancient but surprisingly comfortable chair in the corner, and handed a mug of cocoa. Mrs. Weasley opened the oven and waved a batch of cookies out onto the counter, saying he could have one, but he was to be careful not to burn himself.

With a supernatural sense of timing, people started to file into the room the moment the cookies landed on a cooling rack. Ginny was the first, beating out Fred and George's grab by at least half a second. Ron and Harry thundered into the room next, not even noticing Draco in the corner, too distracted by the hot cookies. In fact, the room was completely full of Weasleys by the time anyone noticed him, and that was mostly because Harry almost sat on him.

"Draco! When did you get here?" Harry asked with surprise, although his tone was cheerful, a smile on his face.

The smile must be a reflex, he mused. He probably just reminded him of his sister. It was the first time Draco could remember Harry using his name too… although he supposed it made sense. He certainly wouldn't be calling Ryua by her last name, after all, so he must be used to it. "About a minute before the cookies," Draco said, surrounded by the surrealness of the situation.

"Well, you have good timing then," he said, grabbing one of the aforementioned fast-disappearing cookies and handing it to him. He accepted it mutely, still taken aback by how… busy the tiny kitchen had gotten, and the surprising lack of hostility. Everyone seemed so happy in this house… and then he took a bite of cookie and decided there was a good reason for the overly-cheerful atmosphere.

"These are the best cookies I've ever eaten," Draco said, surprising himself. It's not like he hadn't been raised with gourmet chefs, and the elves at Hogwarts had never turned out a bad meal yet. But they weren't at all the same as these…

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling proudly at him and passing him another one. He took it quite willingly, he hadn't even realized he'd completely eaten the first one already.

And that set the tone for the rest of the visit, really. Draco was surprised at how easily he fit in here, and realized he probably had Ryua to thank for that. Whether it was just their similiarities that made the Weasleys accept him so easily, or she'd just talked them around to liking him, he didn't know, and probably wouldn't find out.

After several batches of cookies had been demolished, Mrs. Weasley shooed them out of the kitchen so she could bake some for later. Ginny was the one who suggested a game of Quidditch, which was eagerly jumped upon. With so many of the older Weasleys home for Christmas, they could make almost complete teams, and Draco was bemused to find himself playing with the twins and Harry.

It was… fun to play with them, Draco realized. He'd always been against them, swearing at the unnatural way Fred and George played together, hating Harry's enviable talent on a broom. On their side, though, he could relax, enjoy watching the way they played together, and let himself play the game, instead of fighting to win.

Of course, that was when Ginny elbowed him in the stomach and snatched the Quaffle away. Right. The rest of the Weasleys were just as good. The game was unlike any game he remembered playing… he and Ryua had played as kids, of course, but nothing like this. He found himself laughing as he raced forward, ducking under Charlie to catch a pass, dropping the ball to Harry who shot beneath him to score. It was intense, hard flying and playing… but at the same time, effortless and enjoyable.

They played until the light faded, which was fairly early at this time of year, and didn't even stop then until they'd dropped the quaffle blindly for the third time, and Mrs. Weasley called them down for dinner.

Draco found himself sandwiched between Harry and George, which meant he had to really grab for his dinner. Even that was fun, though, and he suspected there was enough food that he wouldn't go hungry even without the friendly competition for the mashed potatoes and gravy.

He'd never had a dinner that lasted so long, and was so happy. Even the end of term feasts at Hogwarts weren't the same, they didn't have the slow, sleepy feel to them towards the end of the meal, when everyone kept picking at the food although they were too full to eat, and that was before Mrs. Weasley cut up the pie.

By the time Draco followed Harry up the twisted, narrow staircases to Ron's brilliantly orange room, he was half asleep and more content than he could ever remember feeling. It didn't matter that the cot Harry playfully shoved him onto was narrow and the blankets were old and worn. It didn't even matter that Harry and Ron were both wedged into the tiny room with him, in quarters even closer than the dorms at Hogwarts. He tossed a balled-up sock at Harry in retaliation for pushing him over, and stretched out to sleep.

Over the next few days, Draco kept thinking that something was going to shift. There was no way a family could be this happy, this friendly and busy and everything all the time. And yet, they were. Oh, sure, there was squabbling between Percy and George about the experimental firecrackers, and grouchiness from Ron if he didn't get first helpings of food, especially in the morning, but even that was… minor. Even if it wasn't friendly, they never came close to even pushing each other, let alone drawing wands.

Perhaps the most surprising thing, or at least unexpected, was how well he was getting along with Harry. All those years of rivalry apparently translated quite easily into companionship, and if there was a little more teasing and roughhousing, it was all in fun. Not to mention that Harry was good at games. Quidditch was the most common one they played, of course, but that wasn't the only one. Fred and George handed out some prototype wands they'd designed for their joke shop, and they'd all set out across the property to experiment.

The wands were designed to fire harmless, annoying spells, tickling charms and the like, leg locker jinxes that lasted for a few seconds at a time. The twins were trying to set up a game to improve aim and fighting ability, while still having fun. It was like a giant game of tag, mixed with capture the flag and paintball and quidditch. There was a deceptively simple task of one team getting to a goal, designated the kitchen, and the other team keeping them out. The smaller defensive team could win by keeping out at least one person for half an hour, and the rest of course, won by getting to the goal. George cheerfully admitted that the rules were shaky and not really important at this point, that's why they were testing it, to see how it worked.

Hermione volunteered to play, Percy refused, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasely declined to take part as well. Drawing straws set Hermione, George, and Ron as the defenders, and everyone else was sent out to the edges of the Weasley's property line to start making their way back.

Draco headed out on his own, making his way through the cornfield, moving as quietly as possible. The dry rustling stalks made this pretty much impossible, but at least he could hear anyone else coming towards him.

Or at least that was the idea. He did hear a rustle to his left, spun to face it, and shouted in surprise as a spell came whooshing towards him, locking his legs together and toppling him forward. "Gotcha!" he heard Ron's voice call out before he ran off.

The jinx did last only a few moments, and then he was up again, shaking out his foot to dispense a little bit of pins and needles. And then he realized he'd gotten turned around. "Stupid Weasley," he grumbled, picking a direction and wandering forwards.

"Wait, stop!" he heard a shout, and an arm grabbed his shoulder. "Hermione's gone and laid a trap here." Harry pointed past him at the ground, where a shimmer of magic ran along the line of cornrows.

"How did… I thought these were joke wands," Draco said, glancing down at his.

"If anyone could figure it out, it's Hermione," Harry said with a touch of pride for his friend. "Granted, it's probably nothing more than a tickling charm… but it might also stick you in place or something."

"Alright, you lead then," Draco said, nudging his arm. Now that they were closer to the house, they could hear other people running and shouting, the occasional burst of laughter. With Harry leading, they made it through the cornfield, to the south side of the house fairly quickly. Ron was on guard here, looking around, but standing in the middle of the field with little cover. "We can take him," Draco whispered to Harry, the two of them just hidden in the cornstalks.

He started to move forward, raising his wand, and then Harry yanked him back as a crashing sound came from their left. Falling back against Harry's chest, he saw Charlie bounding forwards, sending a spell flying at Ron. Ron ducked, and another spell came shooting from the side, catching Charlie square in the ribs, jerking him around in a Tarentallega spell. "That would be a trap," Harry whispered in his ear, his hands still on Draco's shoulders, holding him back.

"Obviously," he replied, pulling away from Harry. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable… more like he felt he should be uncomfortable with the contact. "But now that Charlie's sprung it, let's go through when they aren't expecting it."

"Well, it was worth a try…' Draco groaned, laying down on the couch. He had made it past Hermione, but apparently had forgotten about the fact that while Ron was a decoy, he was still armed. A normally amusing Jelly-legs-jinx, when cast at someone running at full speed over uneven, frozen ground, turned into a dangerous problem that sent the person into an uncontrolled tumble.

Mrs. Weasley had assured him the sprained ankle would heal up by the next morning after she wrapped it up in a magical bandage. She'd then flown off the handle at Fred and George, much to Ron's relief, since it had been him who jinxed Draco in the first place. For his part, Draco felt a little bit silly, and rather sorry that Mrs. Weasley was making such a big deal about it.

"Don't feel so bad about it," Ginny said, when he'd tried to say something about it. "She yells at them all the time, and if it were one of us, she'd have stopped yelling by now anyway. She's just been so worried about you feeling unwelcome that she's going a bit overboard."

"Well, you aren't part of the Weasley family until you've been hit by one of Fred and George's jokes gone wrong," Hermione put in. "It's happened to all of us. And the two of them, for that matter."

Sure enough, after extracting apologies and promises to not do it again, Mrs. Weasley stopped yelling, and came in to finish with dinner. Her magicked bandage was already helping his ankle, and Draco was sitting up by this point, engaged in an uproarious game of four-way Exploding Snap. This basically meant that it was louder and more explosive than the original, and really rather chaotic and pointless, since the cards rarely stayed unexploded long enough to declare a winner.

By the time dinner was eaten, the upbraiding had been completely forgotten, Fred and George as enthusiastic and upbeat as anyone else around the table. Draco was pleased to get the first slice of pie, though, he didn't mind that kind of coddling.

"I never want to leave this family," Draco laughed later that evening as Harry helped him up the stairs. The narrow, uneven stairs meant they were pressed together awkwardly in places, but he was unsure about handling them on one foot.

"I know exactly what you mean," Harry agreed, his arm wrapped around Draco's waist, pulling him up and around a particularly awkward corner. He pushed open the door to Ron's room, manoeuvring Draco carefully through the stacks of comic books and laundry, only to trip on a blanket that hadn't made it back up onto the bed, tumbling them both down.

"Hey, hey, watch the ankle," Draco yelped, twisting at least a little to keep Harry from squashing it on the way down. He was laughing even as he protested though, amused at the absurdity of the situation.

Harry mostly caught himself against the wall, only squashing Draco a little bit. He grinned, looking down at the familiar eyes, crinkling in the same way Ryua's did, and froze before he started to lean down.

Beneath him, Draco felt the shift of atmosphere keenly, from clumsy silliness, to a surprisingly charged intensity, and then the way Harry's body went rigid, his eyes widening before pushing himself up off of Draco as quickly as he could. "I… yeah, I'm just going to go… check on something. Rest well…" Harry said awkwardly, retreating from the room.

Draco stared after him, unsure how to feel about what had just occurred. Hell, he was unsure what HAD just occurred. He knew he felt uneasy… but what made him even more uneasy was he wasn't sure why. Was he upset at the way it had felt when Harry forgot who he was for a second? Or upset because of the obvious way he was afraid of the reaction?


	49. Draco's Christmas Part 2

The next morning, Draco woke up with an unfamiliar feeling of reluctance. He'd gotten so used to enjoying life at the Weasleys' house that it took him a moment to remember why he was uneasy. And then he caught a glimpse of Harry's messy black hair a couple of feet away and up on his own bed, and remembered. He rolled quietly to his back, thinking. What had that even been? Maybe he was imagining it… probably he was, probably the spelled healing bandage on his ankle had been messing with his perceptions. Speaking of which… he got up and unrolled it, flexing his toes to check for any residual pain.

Besides, he told himself as he got out of bed, carefully so he didn't wake up the other two in the room, it wasn't like he hadn't gotten flashes from Ryua before. That was probably what this was… just some strange deja-vu moment left over from his twin's experiences. Feeling more like himself, he walked quietly down the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley was already in the kitchen, mixing up a batch of muffins. "Good morning, Draco. Is your ankle back to normal?" she asked, waving her wand at the bowl to continue mixing and pushing him into a chair to check.

"Yes, it's fine, Mrs. Weasley, thank you," he said, not sure whether to feel embarrassed or pleased that she was fussing over him.

"Well, you take it easy today just in case," she said, patting his ankle and setting his foot back on the floor before going back to pouring the now finished muffin batter into muffin tins. Draco offered to help with breakfast, and soon found himself being instructed on how to cook up a pan of bacon. It wasn't that hard, really, he mused, shifting the thick slices around with a wooden spoon as they hissed and spattered in the pan. He'd never had a reason to spend much time in the kitchen before, and being here had gotten him interested in it. Not that he ever expected to be a great chef… but helping to stir the bacon was a surprisingly satisfying activity.

Between his bacon and the muffins just being pulled out of the oven, the house started to stir. Bill was the first one down the stairs, looking sleepy with his long hair rumpled all on one side. "Mmm…. Smells good, Mum," he said, snagging a muffin and a mug of juice. It took him a moment to realize anyone else was there, then he peered up at Draco. "Mum! You let the Malfoy cook? What if he poisons us all?"

It took a moment for Draco to realize that he was being teased. He grinned, knowing it meant that Bill at least felt comfortable with him, and he replied, "Well, you'd better taste it first, then, so if you keel over the rest of your family knows not to eat any."

"Oh, stop playing, you two," Mrs Weasley said, shaking a spatula playfully at them when Bill flicked orange juice at Draco, who aimed a lazy swipe back at him. "No roughhousing in the kitchen, or you'll spill the bacon." Faced with this dire possibility, they both immediately behaved, at least until Draco carefully transferred the bacon to a plate and set it in the center of the table. Then he shoved the back of Bill's head lightly on the way past, sitting down innocently and taking a slice of bacon with his muffin.

As was usual, the rest of the house trickled in quickly once the food was ready, and the table was soon as full as it had been last night. Draco noticed with annoyance that Harry carefully sat a few places away from him this time, and he decided they needed to have a talk after breakfast. Harry was obviously taking this way too seriously.

It was easier said than done, to find a private place for more than a few seconds, in the Weasley House. Especially as it was Christmas Eve, and they were in a decorating frenzy. Draco had never seen a house so… chaotically decorated. There were ancient glass balls and sculptures, obviously passed down through generations. There were many, many homemade ones, from seven children making Christmas decorations all through their childhood, and Mrs. Weasley had obviously kept them all. Even the ones that made Ron say, "Muuummm… you don't have to put up THAT one, it's hideous." To which she always replied, "Don't be silly. You made it for me, and I love it."

The tree was a little crooked, although there was a surprisingly tall section of ceiling they put it up in, and the branches were soon covered with so many trinkets and magical lights and bits of shiny tinsel that you could hardly see the tree anymore. And then the presents started being placed, some of them little boxes, some of them large. "Um… I didn't know… I didn't expect…" Draco started.

"Don't worry dear, of course you didn't have time to get anything for anyone," Mrs. Weasley said firmly, patting his arm reassuringly. "You can just help me with Christmas dinner tomorrow, and keep everyone company."

Much to his surprise, it really was that easy. He was surprised to discover that the Weasleys listened to Celestina Warbek… she'd been his mother's favourite singer, too. There were plates and plates of gingery, spicy cookies, mugs of cocoa, and even Percy relaxed and seemed to enjoy the evening with his family. Towards the end of the evening, bolstered by Mrs. Weasley's excellent baking and the peaceful, congenial atmosphere, Draco followed Harry into the kitchen when he went to go refill the thermos of cocoa.

"Hey, Harry," Draco said quietly, although he doubted anyone could hear them talking over the chatter and Christmas carols in the other room. "You're still worried about that… moment last night, aren't you?"

Harry went pink, and concentrated on filling up the kettle, setting it to heat with a prod of his wand. "I'm sorry about that. I can't believe I… I forgot you weren't her, for a second."

Draco shrugged, then realized Harry wasn't looking at him and wouldn't see it. "It happens, Harry. We're as identical as it's possible to get and not be the same gender. I'm not angry about it, alright? Let's just pretend it didn't happen. I don't want to have to avoid you for the rest of the holiday."

Harry turned to look at him now, looking carefully at him. Whatever he saw in Draco's expression made him relax. "Okay. I can do that. Just a little mistake, right?"

"Absolutely."

Draco woke up the next morning to a pillow flung at his head. He scrambled blearily for his wand for a moment before he realized that Harry was getting the same treatment from an excited Ron. "Come on, let's go get presents!" Ron said excitedly, bounding out of the room once he was sure the two of them were awake.

"I didn't realize he ever woke up early," Draco said, rolling out of bed and straightening his borrowed pyjamas while Harry fumbled for his glasses.

"Only on Christmas," Harry chuckled. "And he only throws pillows at people he likes. Not sure if that's a good thing or not."

Ron may have been the first person up, but everyone joined him downstairs within a few minutes. Mrs. Weasley handed out glasses of juice and tea for everyone who wanted them, and then Ron dove into the pile with unrestrained exhuberance. The unwrapping started in quite a flurry as he tossed packages to the various people throughout the room. This wasn't nearly as big a mess as Draco had expected. While his presents had always been layered in shiny paper, the Weasleys used patterned cloth bags, which meant they could be reused every time someone needed to wrap a gift.

The presents weren't what he was used to either… although not in a bad way. There wasn't a lot of fancy new things given, no expensive toys or intricately charmed items. Most of what was popping out of bags was bundles of food for all of Mrs. Weasley's children, packaged up to go back to school or work with them. Draco flushed when Ron handed him a bundle along with everyone else, and then was surprised again when Mrs. Weasley set another squashy package on top of that.

"I'll understand if you don't wear it at school, dear," she said, when he unwrapped it to find a very warm looking black and green sweater, knitted in a style he recognized from seeing various members of the Weasley family wearing. "But I wanted you to at least have something warm to wear outside."

Touched, more than he'd expected possible, Draco just nodded, leaning back in the corner he'd settled himself in. He pulled the sweater on with only a little encouragement from Harry, who was wearing a garishly bright red one with a golden snitch on the front. The day never lost the festive feeling and almost panicked pace of events, friends and family dropping by, owls arriving with streams of cards, members of the Order of the Phoenix coming over for a cup of tea, or lunch, or to help set up for dinner.

Draco had a very odd moment when he realized he was setting out a tablecloth with Kingsley Shacklebolt, who he'd been certain was being groomed by Voldemort for recruitment or Imperious. Kingsley must have realized what was going on behind his peculiar look, because he grinned widely. "Don't worry, little Malfoy. They know he's recruited me. He just doesn't realize I'm one of the Order first."

Dinner was a very congenial affair, with far more people crammed into the Weasley's main floor rooms than Draco would have thought possible, or even comfortable. There was far too much food, and wizard crackers abounded, meaning there were silly hats and sillier jokes being swapped around the table. Just when he thought he was going to burst, Mrs. Weasley levitated in a massive Christmas pudding, and everyone somehow managed to make room for a slice.

They dispersed at least a little after that, some of the chairs and couches dragged back against the wall, Ron simply stretching flat out on the floor, managing to look both blissfully content and in pain from his bloated stomach at the same time. Card Greenbay slid onto the bench beside Harry, looking almost, but not quite like a Weasley himself. "I'm taking Christmas presents and letters to Ryua later tonight," he said, "When I go to look in on her. You should both write something. She's doing fine, but lonely with nobody but Lucius and a couple of House Elves to talk to."

Draco went for parchment and quills while Harry cleared a space, brushing crumbs of biscuit and turkey away. Letter writing was never something Draco had ever tried to do, but he was surprised at how easy it was to write, talking about living with the Weasleys, and the food, and how he hoped she was doing alright. He didn't look over Harry's shoulder, but by the focused look on his face and the slight blush on his cheeks, he could guess the sorts of things he was writing.

He was surprised how much better he felt after folding up the parchment and handing it to Card to add to a growing pile on top of one of Mrs. Weasley's care packages. Even if Ryua couldn't be here this Christmas, at least she'd get some cheerful news. And cookies. He would never underestimate the power of cookies again.

Eventually, the party died down, Draco's cousin Tonks and Remus Lupin leaving first, Card and Kingsley after them. Slowly, various members of the Weasleys dropped off to sleep, until finally Mrs. Weasley shooed them all upstairs like errant children to get some rest.

"Ron, your family throws the best Christmas party I've ever been to. Hands down," Draco said, yawning as he crawled into bed.

"Yeah, they're pretty great," he heard Ron agree sleepily, Harry nodding before waving off the lights.

_Author's Note: _I apologize for my achingly long absence. I simply got fed up with the storyline, with the characters, and everything else. The problem with growing up in the middle of a story, I suppose…

Anyway. I woke up this morning knowing how I was going to fix it, two years after I had given up on ever figuring it out. There is one more part to this backstory, and then it will be forward again!


	50. Draco's Christmas Part 3

The rest of the holidays passed much as the first few days had. There were fake wand duels and quidditch matches, even one that went right through a blizzard. The next day, there was a snowball fight, complete with teams and fortresses built out of snow. Draco ended up soaked to the skin and exhausted, and laughing harder than he could ever remember doing before.

He didn't even mind that his side had lost terribly… it had gotten so bad that Bill and Charlie had actually switched sides at the end, leaving himself, Harry, and Ron to be mercilessly pounded with the wet snow. "It's a good thing none of us play chaser normally," Harry said ruefully, after being wrapped up in blankets and force-fed cocoa by Mrs. Weasley after they'd been dragged inside, caked in snow. "Apparently none of us can throw straight to save our lives."

.

"It's the one night out of the year Mum lets us drink anything stronger than butterbeer," Ron said excitedly, when Draco asked what the point of all the firewhiskey was. Apparently New Years Eve was as large a celebration for the Weasleys as Christmas had been, even if the feast wasn't the same.

Draco volunteered for kitchen duty again, and was put to work assembling tiny dumplings stuffed with cheese and pork and vegetables, one of the many snack-ish dishes that were going to be fed to them all evening long. Ginny teased him good-naturedly about the lumpy shapes he was making, and showed him how to do it properly, until the two of them had turned out a truly incredible number of the little treats for Mrs. Weasley to fry.

People started dropping in again, the way they had on Christmas, some showing up with more food, some with more drinks, and some just showing up anyways. They didn't work all day… Mrs. Weasley made sure everyone stopped for at least a couple of hours to play games or visit. Draco was a little distressed at how quickly the day was going by… they'd be going back to school two days after New Years, and he was surprised at how badly he just wanted to stay here.

Determined to make the best of it, he visited with everyone, helped in the kitchen, ate far too much cookie dough, played an uproarious game of wizard chess with Ron, amused at the ancient, quirky pieces the Weasleys kept. Soon enough, the sun faded, and the cheerful, productive yet lazy day changed into evening.

There were still games being played, stories being told, but the main difference was instead of making food, food was served, trays of sandwitches, of sliced fruit, of little dumplings and buns. Bottles of Butterbeer were opened, served along with glasses of firewhiskey for the adults.

Of course, since most of the kids were adults or almost of age anyway, nobody really protested when a round was passed around the teenagers. The stuff burned on the way down, but was incredibly warming and pleasant after the initial swallow, and Draco felt his already happy mood expand, buoyed up by the alcohol.

He didn't really recognize he was drunk until he realized he was leaning on Charlie, badly singing the lyrics to some bawdy muggle song that Mr. Weasley had been teaching them all to sing. It was then that he remembered that quite a bit of time must have passed in a happy, warm blur, and he couldn't remember exactly how much he'd had to drink. He knew that Mrs. Weasley was making sure nobody passed into being unpleasantly drunk, and so hadn't really paid any attention to it.

Hermione was bright red and giggling at something Ron was whispering in her ear, Fred and George acting out some ridiculous story that seemed to require dancing. Mr. Weasley had his arms wrapped around his wife, smiling happily at the scene, Lupin was actually rolled on his back by the fireplace, while Tonks rubbed his stomach. It was close to the full moon, she was telling Bill, who was watching the two of them with a great deal of amusement, and Remus started acting more doggish at this time of the month… especially when he'd been drinking.

"Wait, wait!" Harry said, waving for everyone's attention and turning up the Wizard Wireless. His cheeks were slightly pink and he was grinning, clearly having enjoyed the firewhiskey as much as everyone else. "It's time!"

Oh yeah. There was a point to the celebrating… Draco didn't feel the least bit foolish counting down with the rest of the room, although the sheer exhuberance of the hugging and cheering after the year clicked over did take him by surprise. He found himself swept up in group hug after group hug, someone passing him a glass to make a toast to the new year.

After midnight, people slowly started to drift away, using the Floo Network instead of apparating. Drunk people tended to get splinched a lot, and nobody wanted to end the evening on a note like that. Fred and George helped Ron off to bed, who was almost asleep already, stuffed full of treats and firewhiskey.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley melted away from the room after the last of the out of house guests had gone, and the room got steadily quieter as more people turned in for the night. Bill and Charlie had claimed a bowl of homemade crisps and dip, and looked to be making the night into a marathon, determined to be the last ones up. Draco shook his head at them, and stood up, wobbling a bit. "Whoa…. Definitely time to sleep for me."

"You're probably right," Harry agreed. "But you shouldn't go up those stairs by yourself. You might fall over."

"Riiight. Because you're so steady on your feet yourself," Draco teased, concentrating and making it over to the staircase. He looked blearily up it, and then decided it might be better to go up the stairs on all fours, slowly crawling up it. The stairs were steep enough it was almost like climbing a tilted ladder anyway.

Harry followed him. "See? You're not even walking…" he said, then realized Draco had the right idea, and made his way up the narrow staircase the same way. He liked being friends with Draco, Harry thought to himself. He was nice… happier and more fun to be with than he'd expected.

Up at the top of the staircase, Draco pushed himself back up against the wall, feeling a little more in control of himself now that he was moving a bit. "This place… throws a really good party," he said, reaching down a hand to pull Harry to his feet.

Harry lurched to his feet, falling against Draco, pinning him to the wall. "That's true," he agreed cheerfully. He liked Draco… he liked the way he smiled, and the way they joked around with each other… he was a surprisingly nice person, really. And then he looked down at him, Draco just slightly shorter than him, his eyes wide and and full of happy warmth, despite their cold colour, his cheeks flushed… and it hit him.

"It wasn't a mistake," Harry whispered to himself, and leaned down purposefully this time, kissing him gently. Much to his relief, he didn't immediately get punched or a wand stuck in his gut.

Draco's reflexes were slower than usual, and so were his thoughts, so he didn't think to push Harry off of him right away, just observed how his weight felt almost nice pressing him against the wall, and he was kind of happy that he was getting more hugs, hugs were nice, and then before he realized what was actually happening, Harry was even closer, there were lips on his, and he relaxed into the kiss. A few moments later, his mind caught up with what was happening. He was being kissed. By Harry. By his sister's boyfriend… and it wasn't bad. It was actually kind of nice.

Harry pulled back after a moment, eyes searching Draco's face for a hint, for disgust, for permission, for… he didn't know what, really. "That was kind of… nice," Draco said quietly, and leaned forward to kiss him again, just to see if he liked it again the second time.

He didn't know how long it continued, how long he and Harry stayed there, leaning on the wall, lost in each other and the haze of firewhiskey and being up far too late. The sound of movement downstairs prompted them to fumble their way into the room they were sharing with Ron, clumsy and eager. At some point, the threat of waking up Ron forced them to reluctantly stop, and the tiny couch and cot they were sleeping on forced them apart for the rest of the night.

.o.o.o.

Harry woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly happy and satisfied with himself. He'd had a delicious dream about Ryua last night, very vivid, very enjoyable. In fact, he was a little surprised at just how vivid it was… most of his dreams had been blurry or non-existent, and his mind was still working a little slowly this morning. In fact, he stumbled downstairs, had a drink of juice, and was halfway through his first pancake before his eyes focused on Draco sitting across from him and everything snapped into place.

He choked, coughing on a bite of pancake, nodding at Fred's amused comment that he shouldn't eat so quickly. He took a drink of juice, and looked over at Draco, who stared back for a moment before turning his attention to his own food. Playing it cool probably was the right idea, he realized, and forced himself to finish his breakfast. Luckily, almost everyone was a little subdued this morning, from partying too much last night, and nobody remarked on how quiet he was being.

He followed Draco out to the broomshed when he said he was going to go for a walk, get some fresh air. Harry followed him in silence for a while, until they were well, well away from the house. "So…"

"So indeed," Draco said, laughing a little ruefully. "I don't think Ron noticed anything."

"We're lucky it was so dark," Harry said, laughing a little himself, the sound dying off when Draco stepped up close to him.

"Was it just that I reminded you of her?" Draco asked, looking up at him curiously. He didn't sound desperate, or hurt, just honestly curious.

Harry was quiet for a moment, thinking about the answer instead of just spurting the first thing that came to mind. "No." he said finally. "No, I knew it was you I was…"

"Kissing?" Draco finished when he trailed off, grinning at him. "I thought so, but I wanted to make sure."

Harry smiled back, then groaned and closed his eyes. "What are we going to tell her?" It was one thing if it was just a mistake brought on by too much firewhiskey, but…

"We'll ease her into it," Draco said, looking a little worried himself. Of course he was nervous about his sister trying to kill them, but he was more worried about her being hurt. "And if she forbids us from ever talking to each other again, well… we were sworn enemies for years. I'm sure we can do it again."

Harry nodded, his stomach sinking at the thought. He'd enjoyed having his rival develop into his friend over the holidays, even over the last year. And then Draco poked him in the stomach. "Who knows? Maybe she'll say she wants to share you," he teased, laughing at the expression on Harry's face as he went from worried to shocked to aroused to embarrassed in the space of about two seconds.

_Author's Note:___This concludes the catch-up I've been playing with myself, and I have only two things to say about this chapter.

One- Feedback is requested on what you want to see happen in this awkward love triangle. Otherwise, I'll trample all over it with my terrible, kinky fangirling-ness.

Two- For those of you looking for the lemon, it has been posted in the next chapter. For those of you who are not into seeing an expanded scene between Draco and Harry… skip the chapter directly after this one.


	51. Part 3 Slashygoodness

The rest of the holidays passed much as the first few days had. There were fake wand duels and quidditch matches, even one that went right through a blizzard. The next day, there was a snowball fight, complete with teams and fortresses built out of snow. Draco ended up soaked to the skin and exhausted, and laughing harder than he could ever remember doing before.

He didn't even mind that his side had lost terribly… it had gotten so bad that Bill and Charlie had actually switched sides at the end, leaving himself, Harry, and Ron to be mercilessly pounded with the wet snow. "It's a good thing none of us play chaser normally," Harry said ruefully, after being wrapped up in blankets and force-fed cocoa by Mrs. Weasley after they'd been dragged inside, caked in snow. "Apparently none of us can throw straight to save our lives."

.

"It's the one night out of the year Mum lets us drink anything stronger than butterbeer," Ron said excitedly, when Draco asked what the point of all the firewhiskey was. Apparently New Years Eve was as large a celebration for the Weasleys as Christmas had been, even if the feast wasn't the same.

Draco volunteered for kitchen duty again, and was put to work assembling tiny dumplings stuffed with cheese and pork and vegetables, one of the many snack-ish dishes that were going to be fed to them all evening long. Ginny teased him good-naturedly about the lumpy shapes he was making, and showed him how to do it properly, until the two of them had turned out a truly incredible number of the little treats for Mrs. Weasley to fry.

People started dropping in again, the way they had on Christmas, some showing up with more food, some with more drinks, and some just showing up anyways. They didn't work all day… Mrs. Weasley made sure everyone stopped for at least a couple of hours to play games or visit. Draco was a little distressed at how quickly the day was going by… they'd be going back to school two days after New Years, and he was surprised at how badly he just wanted to stay here.

Determined to make the best of it, he visited with everyone, helped in the kitchen, ate far too much cookie dough, played an uproarious game of wizard chess with Ron, amused at the ancient, quirky pieces the Weasleys kept. Soon enough, the sun faded, and the cheerful, productive yet lazy day changed into evening.

There were still games being played, stories being told, but the main difference was instead of making food, food was served, trays of sandwitches, of sliced fruit, of little dumplings and buns. Bottles of Butterbeer were opened, served along with glasses of firewhiskey for the adults.

Of course, since most of the kids were adults or almost of age anyway, nobody really protested when a round was passed around the teenagers. The stuff burned on the way down, but was incredibly warming and pleasant after the initial swallow, and Draco felt his already happy mood expand, buoyed up by the alcohol.

He didn't really recognize he was drunk until he realized he was leaning on Charlie, badly singing the lyrics to some bawdy muggle song that Mr. Weasley had been teaching them all to sing. It was then that he remembered that quite a bit of time must have passed in a happy, warm blur, and he couldn't remember exactly how much he'd had to drink. He knew that Mrs. Weasley was making sure nobody passed into being unpleasantly drunk, and so hadn't really paid any attention to it.

Hermione was bright red and giggling at something Ron was whispering in her ear, Fred and George acting out some ridiculous story that seemed to require dancing. Mr. Weasley had his arms wrapped around his wife, smiling happily at the scene, Lupin was actually rolled on his back by the fireplace, while Tonks rubbed his stomach. It was close to the full moon, she was telling Bill, who was watching the two of them with a great deal of amusement, and Remus started acting more doggish at this time of the month… especially when he'd been drinking.

"Wait, wait!" Harry said, waving for everyone's attention and turning up the Wizard Wireless. His cheeks were slightly pink and he was grinning, clearly having enjoyed the firewhiskey as much as everyone else. "It's time!"

Oh yeah. There was a point to the celebrating… Draco didn't feel the least bit foolish counting down with the rest of the room, although the sheer exhuberance of the hugging and cheering after the year clicked over did take him by surprise. He found himself swept up in group hug after group hug, someone passing him a glass to make a toast to the new year.

After midnight, people slowly started to drift away, using the Floo Network instead of apparating. Drunk people tended to get splinched a lot, and nobody wanted to end the evening on a note like that. Fred and George helped Ron off to bed, who was almost asleep already, stuffed full of treats and firewhiskey.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley melted away from the room after the last of the out of house guests had gone, and the room got steadily quieter as more people turned in for the night. Bill and Charlie had claimed a bowl of homemade crisps and dip, and looked to be making the night into a marathon, determined to be the last ones up. Draco shook his head at them, and stood up, wobbling a bit. "Whoa…. Definitely time to sleep for me."

"You're probably right," Harry agreed. "But you shouldn't go up those stairs by yourself. You might fall over."

"Riiight. Because you're so steady on your feet yourself," Draco teased, concentrating and making it over to the staircase. He looked blearily up it, and then decided it might be better to go up the stairs on all fours, slowly crawling up it. The stairs were steep enough it was almost like climbing a tilted ladder anyway.

Harry followed him. "See? You're not even walking…" he said, then realized Draco had the right idea, and made his way up the narrow staircase the same way. He liked being friends with Draco, Harry thought to himself. He was nice… happier and more fun to be with than he'd expected.

Up at the top of the staircase, Draco pushed himself back up against the wall, feeling a little more in control of himself now that he was moving a bit. "This place… throws a really good party," he said, reaching down a hand to pull Harry to his feet.

Harry lurched to his feet, falling against Draco, pinning him to the wall. "That's true," he agreed cheerfully. He liked Draco… he liked the way he smiled, and the way they joked around with each other… he was a surprisingly nice person, really. And then he looked down at him, Draco just slightly shorter than him, his eyes wide and and full of happy warmth, despite their cold colour, his cheeks flushed… and it hit him.

"It wasn't a mistake," Harry whispered to himself, and leaned down purposefully this time, kissing him gently. Much to his relief, he didn't immediately get punched or a wand stuck in his gut.

Draco's reflexes were slower than usual, and so were his thoughts, so he didn't think to push Harry off of him right away, just observed how his weight felt almost nice pressing him against the wall, and he was kind of happy that he was getting more hugs, hugs were nice, and then before he realized what was actually happening, Harry was even closer, there were lips on his, and he relaxed into the kiss. A few moments later, his mind caught up with what was happening. He was being kissed. By Harry. By his sister's boyfriend… and it wasn't bad. It was actually kind of nice.

Harry pulled back after a moment, eyes searching Draco's face for a hint, for disgust, for permission, for… he didn't know what, really. "That was kind of… nice," Draco said quietly, and leaned forward to kiss him again, just to see if he liked it again the second time.

His head was a blur. Some part of Harry's mind knew this couldn't be a good idea, but the firewhiskey was keeping a warm, hazy barrier between him and most of his thinking brain… and then when Draco kissed him back, even that vague thought of bad idea just kind of faded away, unimportant next to what was right in front of him, right now. Draco's skin was soft under his fingers as he reached up to touch his cheek, slightly salty under his tongue when he broke the kiss to tease at his neck.

Draco sighed, leaning heavily back against the wall, Harry's arms on either side of him, keeping him in place. His mouth was hot on his neck, leaving wet marks behind that were contrastingly cold in the night air. He thought for a moment about why this was wrong, why they should really stop, than lazily pushed the thought away, vanishing into the haze of heat and firewhiskey and the sheer pleasure of having Harry suck on his ear.

How did he know to do that? He was surprised to hear himself let out a low moan when Harry's teeth grazed against his earlobe, sending shivers down his back and making it even harder to stand up. "You react just like she does," Harry observed, his voice low and intimate next to his ear.

"Well, we are twins," he murmured back, ignoring the little mental voice that told him Ryua would be furious when she found out. He leaned forwards, tilting his head to kiss along his jawline, letting his tongue trail light swirls over Harry's skin.

"You do that like her too," he sighed, tilting his head back to let Draco at his neck.

"I can think of one thing I'd do very differently," Draco said suggestively, nipping at the place where Harry's throat met his shoulder.

Harry froze in place for a moment, unsure how he felt about that statement. And then realized that there was a growing heat inside him that was quite intrigued to explore what Draco meant by that. "I bet there is," he replied, surprised at how hoarse his voice had gotten. He let Draco push him backwards, opening the door to their room behind them to get out of the hallway before Ginny or Bill or Charlie came up the stairs.

"I… oh, fuck," Harry gasped, as Draco pushed him down onto his bed. Ron was snoring, clearly dead to the world, and he felt no compulsions against pulling Harry's sweater up, trailing his tongue up from his navel to his chest. Draco climbed on top of him, swaying slightly before he leaned forward to kiss him again, this time pressing his tongue forward, teasing through his lips, tasting the hint of firewhiskey and chocolate dipped strawberries in his mouth.

Harry's mind went deliciously blank as Draco kissed him, reaching up, his hands running clumsily, desperately under his sweater, running over his familiar, athletic body, warm and slightly sweaty under his hands. For his part, Draco would have kept going, except for an unusually loud snort from Ron, and a bleary voice muttering, "What're you… doin over there…"

It was enough to realize that maybe in a shared room in the Weasley's very crowded house wasn't the best place for this. "Just getting into bed," Draco said, shifting off of Harry and almost falling before landing in his own bed. He grinned to hear Harry's protesting whine, and pushed away Harry's blindly groping hand. "Not here," he whispered. "We're just lucky it's so dark." And that Ron was drunk enough he probably didn't notice what they were really doing. He'd meant to stay awake, to entertain thoughts about going further… and was asleep within moments of laying down, the Firewhiskey buzz pulling him under.

.o.o.o.

Harry woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly happy and satisfied with himself. He'd had a delicious dream about Ryua last night, very vivid, very enjoyable. In fact, he was a little surprised at just how vivid it was… most of his dreams had been blurry or non-existant, and his mind was still working a little slowly this morning. In fact, he stumbled downstairs, had a drink of juice, and was halfway through his first pancake before his eyes focused on Draco sitting across from him and everything snapped into place.

He choked, coughing on a bite of pancake, nodding at Fred's amused comment that he shouldn't eat so quickly. He took a drink of juice, and looked over at Draco, who stared back for a moment before turning his attention to his own food. Playing it cool probably was the right idea, he realized, and forced himself to finish his breakfast. Luckily, almost everyone was a little subdued this morning, from partying too much last night, and nobody remarked on how quiet he was being.

He followed Draco out to the broomshed when he said he was going to go for a walk, get some fresh air. Harry followed him in silence for a while, until they were well, well away from the house. "So…"

"So indeed," Draco said, laughing a little ruefully. "I don't think Ron noticed anything."

"We're lucky it was so dark," Harry said, laughing a little himself, the sound dying off when Draco stepped up close to him.

"Was it just that I reminded you of her?" Draco asked, looking up at him curiously. He didn't sound desperate, or hurt, just honestly curious.

Harry was quiet for a moment, thinking about the answer instead of just spurting the first thing that came to mind. "No." he said finally. "No, I knew it was you I was…"

"Kissing?" Draco finished when he trailed off, grinning at him. "I thought so, but I wanted to make sure."

Harry smiled back, then groaned and closed his eyes. "What are we going to tell her?" It was one thing if it was just a mistake brought on by too much firewhiskey, but…

"We'll ease her into it," Draco said, looking a little worried himself. Of course he was nervous about his sister trying to kill them, but he was more worried about her being hurt. "And if she forbids us from ever talking to each other again, well… we were sworn enemies for years. I'm sure we can do it again."

Harry nodded, his stomach sinking at the thought. He'd enjoyed having his rival develop into his friend over the holidays, even over the last year. And then Draco poked him in the stomach. "Who knows? Maybe she'll say she wants to share you," he teased, laughing at the expression on Harry's face as he went from worried to shocked to aroused to embarrassed in the space of about two seconds.


	52. Bargain

Harry came back from school determined to deal with the Draco/Ryua problem. It wasn't like the two of them had declared they were together or anything, just agreed that Ryua ought to know what happened. He and Draco had both agreed they were going to tell her about it… but that was proving harder than they'd expected. This was partially because it was nearly impossible to get her alone for any length of time… but partially because when Harry saw her, he realized he really did still want her.

Once he realized this, he started to push it, trying to convince himself that it really was Ryua he wanted, that despite talking about it with Draco… maybe they had imagined it, it was just a combination of firewhiskey and friendly atmosphere and maybe a little bit of blue balls. Ryua certainly seemed happy about the extra attention, and the way her voice had sounded, when she told him to meet her tonight, at the Room of Requirement… well, he was just glad the school robes weren't cut too closely to the body.

..

Ryua was amused at how enthusiastic Harry was being, and how much more relaxed Draco seemed after a Christmas with the Weasleys. He still had moments when he seemed to withdraw, thinking about something, but she wasn't about to press him. Goodness knows she had her own mental issues from time to time, and didn't want anyone asking about them.

She was looking forward to spending the evening with Harry, she missed good human contact. And she did intend to teach him… for at least the first part of the evening. After all, what was the point of having a boyfriend if you let him get killed because he couldn't handle himself in a dirty fight?

They'd planned to meet right after dinner, and even though she had a feeling of slight butterflies in her stomach, Ryua forced herself to eat. She'd need the energy… and her paranoid mindset didn't want anyone to notice her behaving oddly. Draco was swamped with homework for the evening, apparently he hadn't studied much at all over the holidays, and so there was nobody to care when Ryua didn't stay in the Slytherin common room after dinner. She'd borrowed her brother's wand before dinner, so she didn't risk slicing Harry open with an unusual spell cast, her dagger was still a little unexpected with magic.

She did manage to beat Harry to the room, and smiled when it opened into the comfortable, familiar room she'd been using to teach him throughout the year. She liked this place, the way the colours were exactly how she liked, everything placed itself exactly where she needed it…

The door opened behind her, and she turned to smile at Harry. "Good to see you're on time, Potter," she said teasingly. "Eager to learn how to let loose your inner dark side?"

He laughed, and walked in, the door closing behind him. "I suppose I am… what do you have to teach me tonight?"

Ryua flicked her wrist at him, Draco's wand sending out a flash of light, making Harry leap back and grab his wand… just in time for her disarming spell to hit, sending it flying through the air to her. She caught it neatly, then tossed it back. "Constant vigilance," she said, grinning at him. "If I can take you by surprise and disarm you, so can a Death Eater. We're going to try some more… permanent curses today, spells that won't just make your opponent wobble, ones that will make them collapse and be unable to fight, one way or another."

Harry had forgotten just how… businesslike she was about the kinds of spells that most people didn't even know existed. And she was only teaching him the fighting ones… He didn't even want to think about what she had up her sleeve if she decided he needed to know how to torture someone.

"So, down to business," she said, heading to the center of the room to sit down, Harry following her. She started to list a bewildering array of curses and their effects. "Now, to be fair, I don't expect you to use many of these… but at least you'll recognize them when you see them, so you know if you can dodge, or lessen, or bounce, or if you are just going to have to take it. Or, for that matter, if you _can_ take it."

"This one," she said, standing up and flicking Draco's wand to produce the long, slender whip of light that she'd used over the summer, "Is most often a last-attempt sort of spell. It takes very little magic to sustain once it's up, and behaves pretty much like a normal whip." She swung it behind her, then cracked it just over his head, making him yelp and duck. "You can use it to intercept spells, to an extent… but if you're using it to grab someone, don't use it on a friend. It burns."

The listing continued, Ryua making Harry get up to try some of them, saying he should at least get the feel of the spell, even if casting on a dummy was completely different than using it on a person. "One of my favourites takes surprisingly little effort to use… and it's a favourite among Death Eaters. It's not precisely a killing curse, but a direct hit causes enough damage that they won't last long. Sectumsempra!" she called, swinging her wand at the dummy, splitting the wood down an inch or so. "It's more pronounced on flesh."

"I'll say it causes damage," he murmured, walking forward and touching the slices, going slightly pale. "Who would even invent something like that?"

"Someone with a lot of hate, and a lot of enemies," she said, shrugging. "Luckily, he also created a counterspell, if you aren't tone deaf and are decent at spells. Me? I'm not good enough at spells to work it, but I'll try and learn it for you so you can reverse it."

"That's considerate of you," Harry said, turning to smile at her. "You know… you're a pretty decent person, when you get past the whole creepy obsession with dark spells."

She grinned back. "I guess you're pretty good too, if I can forget about how irritatingly naïve you are about people." Ryua moved towards him purposefully, feeling her heart speeding up slightly.

"So… does that mean you missed me?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her gently against him.

"Maybe a bit," she said, leaning into him, tilting her head up to kiss him gently. It felt so good to be touching him, his hands warm and gentle on her waist before they started to move up her body, trailing lightly along her ribs and back.

The kiss stayed light and gentle for the space of a second or two before Harry deepened it, his mouth pressing hungrily against hers, one hand running up the back of her neck, fingers playing through her shortened hair. Ryua had no problem with this, biting his lip softly, her hands wrapping around his waist, tugging up his shirt.

She breathed in sharply when his fingers ran across bruises and half-healed injuries from her Christmas vacation, but the pain wasn't anywhere near enough to make her uncomfortable, and she pressed up against him to keep him from noticing anything was wrong. One of her hands slid around between them, slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt from the bottom up. She leaned forward to kiss his neck this time, enjoying the soft groan he made, the way his head fell back willingly at her touch.

Ryua was able to get the last of his buttons undone before Harry took control again, his hand on the back of her head, pulling her up to kiss him again, his tongue flicking gently against hers. He pushed her gently back against a wall, looking down at her for a moment. She looked back up at him invitingly, and he almost dove back down, kissing her neck, her jaw, her shoulder… she moaned aloud when his tongue trailed up the side of her neck and cried out when he bit her ear, arching up against him, her arms wrapping tight around him.

She felt him shiver at her reaction, his hands sliding up under her shirt, moving decisively for her bra clasp. It only took a moment of fumbling before he had it open, his hand sliding around to the front, making her gasp as his fingers brushed over her breast.

It felt nice… very nice, especially when his fingers crept higher, and she felt his fingers brush over her nipple gently. She gasped, arching her chest forwards, silently asking for more. He started to stroke lightly over them, rubbing in slow circles. Ryua shuddered, the touch was so light, but so incredibly intense, but not anywhere near hard enough…

He leaned up against her again, his hands dropping down her waist, his lips hot on her neck as he trailed kisses along her skin. She was tempted to just let him keep going, undo her shirt, let him explore as much as he wanted, it felt so good… but she had a plan. And no matter how much Harry distracted her… she wasn't going to forget it.

His hands were working at the buttons on her blouse, and he shifted up slightly, his tongue tracing the curve of her ear, making her shiver. "Mmm, Harry…" she moaned. "Did Draco say he liked that too?"

The expression on his face when he pulled away from her in a dead panic just about made up for how irritated she'd been with him. It had almost been worth Draco's embarrassed, painful admission just to see the look on Harry's face. She could almost read the thoughts whirling behind his wide green eyes, the way his mouth was open, trying to form words.

She walked slowly towards him, Harry backpedalling until he came up against the other wall. "Were you planning to tell me before, or after you got my shirt off? Maybe you were just not going to say anything at all?"

"I… I…" Harry kept trying to think of something to say… he really hadn't meant to go this far without telling her… but she'd kissed him first, and it was so easy to keep going… somehow, he doubted that 'you started it' would be a good response.

"You snogged by brother… my twin brother… over Christmas," she said, putting a finger on his chest, pinning him in place, as if he wasn't already petrified. "And from what I hear… you _liked_ it." She was leaning against him now, her lips almost touching his neck, her breath tickling his skin. "Did you like his smooth skin? Maybe the way his hands are bigger, warmer than mine?" Her fingers, chilly, traced along the skin of his lower back, making him jump.

"Hmm… I wonder how far you really got… did you find any… obvious differences?" she said suggestively, enjoying taunting him now, pressing her small breasts against his chest, her hips right up against his. Draco had told her exactly what they'd done and not got around to doing, and she was amused to feel him twitch a little in response to her words. "Maybe you just didn't get a chance to yet?"

_Yet? That's a strange choice of words…_ Harry's mind observed, through the gibbering fear that she was going to rip him literally to shreds, and the embarrassing arousal left over from what they'd just been doing… and prodded by what she was saying now.

"I think..." she walked her fingers up his spine, "You need to make a choice." Her fingers were in his hair now, pulling his head back. Her lips were on his neck, teeth grazing against his skin. "Don't worry, I'm not so cruel as to force you to choose right now. Anyway, I'm sure that Draco will have some convincing for you, over the next few weeks…" she backed away abruptly, leaving a cool spot on his neck where her mouth had been, doing up her shirt, then turning and leaving the room before he could recover enough to say anything.

.o.o.o.o.o.

"What did he do?" Draco asked, when Ryua got back to the Common room.

She laughed, handing him his wand. "I thought he might faint when I mentioned your name. It might take a few minutes for him to figure out what I told him… I did lay it on pretty heavy."

Draco grinned. He'd been terrified to tell Ryua about kissing Harry… and yes, she'd been mad. Of course she'd been mad… but much more quickly than he'd expected, her attitude shifted, and she'd asked how much he'd enjoyed it. Grateful she wasn't trying to kill him, Draco had given her every detail he could remember. She hadn't looked exactly happy, of course, but she looked more calculating than furious. And then, she'd suggested that if Draco thought he'd like to try it again, they should leave it up to Harry.

Hence, the idea that Ryua would get to play with him as much as she wanted tonight, then tell him that they intended to share him, at least until he could make up his mind which one he wanted more.

While Ryua wasn't entirely happy with the idea… it was better than the alternative, which was to get furious, and end up hurting Draco, and Harry, and herself. This way, two of them would be happy in the end… and at least all three would have an entertaining month or so while they tried to convince Harry to make up his mind.


	53. Training

Someday I will own something of great importance. This will not be Harry Potter, as it is already owned by JK Rowling.

Training

One day, Ryua showed up to class with what looked like a terrible case of really dry skin. Nobody remarked on it, and it seemed to be cleared up by the next day.

A couple of days later, her eyes were a disconcertingly irridescent, rainbowed silver, with a slit pupil. People did comment on this, and wanted to know what charm she'd used to get them to do that. Well, a few, very brave people who didn't know her well asked, anyway. People who actually knew her knew perfectly well that she couldn't charm anything to save her life. And people like Hermione in particular had already figured out what she was doing.

Ryua had started her Animagus training.

This wasn't exactly easy... and she was filled with admiration for James Potter, Sirius Black, and even Peter Pettigrew, who had learned to do this without anyone catching on. She was forever getting minor transformations to happen... and then stop, and refuse to go either back or forwards, hence the occasional reptillian attributes.

"Professor... am I doing something wrong?" Ryua sighed one evening, her voice slightly distorted. Athough her body had stayed normal this time around, her teeth had elongated into obvious fangs, both top and bottom, and she was being very careful not to slice her lips open.

"No, you are actually proceeding quite well," McGonnagal said, sounding positively cheerful about it. "It is uncommon for anyone to get even the slightest transformation within a month, let alone two weeks, and multiple times," she said. "I believe it comes from having picked quite the perfect creature to become."

"That's nice and all, Professor," she said, hissing slightly through her fangs, blood welling in her mouth as one of them neatly put a hole through her lip. "But could you help me with these teeth? My jaw didn't exactly grow to fit them..."

Draco was taking advantage of Ryua's temporary physical difficulties to pursue Harry. It wasn't that Harry was avoiding her entirely while she was trying to transform... but on some days, it was just difficult. Like the day she'd had claws, and sliced through his back almost to the bone without realizing what she was doing. Therefore, an unspoken arrangement had formed... when Ryua was being particularly dragonish, she avoided Harry and let Draco do what he wished.

It was only a matter of time before Harry's friends found out what was going on. Harry had never been a star Charms pupil, or Transfiguration, but when he'd fallen asleep in class, in McGonagall's classroom, no less, Hermione pulled him aside, concerned for his health. "Harry, are you feeling alright?" she asked worriedly on the way up to their common room after dinner. He'd been distant for days, daydreaming and drifting almost constantly.

"Mmm? Yeah, of course," Harry said, trying to look more alert and like he was paying attention to the surroundings. He felt a little embarassed for actually having fallen asleep. Drifting off into daydreams was bad enough, but now he realized maybe he ought to beg an evening off from his... enthusiastic lovers. He didn't notice the foolish grin spreading across his face at the thought until Ron laughed and slugged him in the shoulder.

"You've been spending too much time with that girl, mate," he teased, pulling Harry and Hermione into a corner of the common room, all of them sitting down and Ron casting Muffliato for privacy. "I thought I saw marks when you were getting dressed today."

Hermione had gone pink. "Ron, you can't just ask your best friend about his private life!" she protested. "It's... well, it's private!"

"Come on, 'Mione," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Even you have to admit that it's affecting his schoolwork. And I know you must worry about that."

He knew her so well, sometimes, Hermione thought, with a wave of equal parts irritation and affection. He was right... once it had started affecting his schoolwork, Hermione had really started to worry. "But what I can't figure out is why you're so tired... Ryua's been either busy, transformed, or sleeping off a bad transformation more nights than not, lately. Is she just that demanding on you?"

Harry had been a little embarrassed and pleased when Ron had teased him about his overactive sex life. But somehow, Hermione asking too, probably because she looked worried instead of excited, just made him bright red. Maybe because she hit so directly on the point, although maybe not quite how she thought. It was true, Ryua WAS very demanding... she was flinging herself at him with such vigor that it surprised him. Harry was starting to think she treated a makeout session like a duel, she certainly went at it with the same ferocity and determination. It was fun, no doubt about it... but draining.

On the other hand, that's not what was really the problem. He'd be just fine if he could sleep solidly for a night or two while Ryua was off trying to be a dragon. What was really keeping him from resting was Draco. He was almost as relentless as his sister, but... differently. Where Ryua was intense and demanding, Draco was friendly and playful. Harry was staying up late with him to talk and laugh just as much as anything else they were doing. Not that he didn't enjoy when Draco did want to play...

"Harry?" He came back to himself with a start, realizing he'd drifted off into daydreaming again. "Man, she really must be doing a number on you," Ron said, shaking his head, looking somewhat in awe.

Harry sighed. Well, they'd have to find out sometime. "To be honest... it's not just her. There's... kinda someone else..."

Ron's eyes went wide and he let out a whoop of delight. Hermione looked scandalized. "You can't be serious. You'd do that to her? She's going to kill you!"

He grinned. "No, she's not. She knows about it. I think they're trying to compete right now... so everyone has fun until I can finally make a choice."

"So then who is it?" Ron asked eagerly. "I can't imagine any girl she'd want to share you with."

"Well... you're kinda right..." Harry said, wincing slightly. This was the part he was most worried about. "The other person is kind of not a girl..."

There were a few moments of silence, then Hermione shrugged, and said, "Well, the question still stands then. Who is it?"

Harry looked at her with an expression of profound relief, then glanced over to Ron. His friend's face was as open as ever, showing his shift from surprise to curiosity to confusion... but never all the way to disgust or hatred. Wanting to get all the awkwardness out on the table as quickly as possible, Harry spoke up before Ron could say anything. "It's Draco."

And there was the shift to disgust. "WHAT? But he... he's her... wait. How long? You didn't... in my BEDROOM?" Ron stuttered, going through several abortive thoughts, his voice ending up on a squeak.

"No, we didn't actually get up to anything in your bedroom," Harry said quickly. "That just wouldn't be right." He didn't say how close they'd come, though. "But yeah. Since Christmas break. And yes, Ryua knows, and yes, she was annoyed, but... but this whole open sharing thing was her idea."

"Are you mental?" Ron asked, finally able to get out a complete sentence. "Blimey. No wonder you've been so tired... I mean... twins. Who hasn't fantasized about twins? Okay, usually they're both girls, but... blimey." He supposed Draco was pretty girly looking, if you were talking about thin, athletic types.

"Ron, stop being disgusting," Hermione said, smacking his shoulder lightly. "Of course they're not all three doing it at the same time, are you, Harry?"

"No, of course not," Harry said, although now his mind was off wandering, imagining what it would be like to have both of them at once... Ryua aggressive and demanding, but at the same time welcoming every single advance he made, and Draco curious and enthusiastic, with his better understanding of how the male body worked...

"Alright. You are going to bed," Hermione said, recognizing the glazed look in his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll get word down to the Malfoys that you're just going to sleep it off a bit tonight." She stood up, ordering Ron in no uncertain terms to make sure that Harry went straight to bed, and she went down to find them herself, knowing that Draco would be on patrol, and Ryua would be with McGonagall tonight.

And so, time passed, and although she still hadn't successfully transformed yet, she was getting at least a partial shift every time she had a session with McGonnagal. And they weren't tiring her out the same way anymore, requiring less magic every time, and she was even able to reverse them most of the time.

Of course, just when she was getting complacent about it, one of her attempts made no difference whatsoever to her body. Disappointed, she went to bed, glad at least to be having more sleep time that night, even if it was because she'd failed to transform.

The next morning, in Potions class, there was a bit of minor excitement... Ryua discovered an allergy to Chimera Bile. And sneezed. And lit half the Potions lab on fire. Luckily, most of the ingredients did not create toxic smoke when burned, and Severus was able to clear the room while Ryua was sent to the hospital wing for an allergy charm. "My dear... you couldn't have picked a cute little iguana or something?" Madam Pomfery sighed. "You had to pick a deadly, unpredictable dragon, did you?"

Ryua had just shrugged, feeling too plugged up to say anything... plus, she didn't really want to open her mouth in case she burped out more fire by accident. Once McGonnagal arrived and shrank the extra chemical glands that had grown in her throat, she was sent back to class, along with the two other students who'd suffered minor burns.

With Hermione keeping a strict eye on Harry, he got enough sleep to get through his schoolwork, although he did still have the tendancy to drift off once in a while, daydreaming.

"This is WAY harder than I'd thought it would be," Ryua groaned one day while lazing outside. It was one of the first days of true spring, and she, Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all out, sitting in a patch of sun in the courtyard. "My bones ache from all the shifting..."

"You do tend to look cool pretty often," Ron offered cheerfully. It was true... sometimes the random dragonish attributes were good. Often, though, they were just disturbing, although McGonnagal helped her melt away any of the really bad or dangerous ones.

"Thanks," she sighed, rolling over onto her back, on the grass. It was slightly damp, but Hermione knew drying charms. Harry was back to back with Draco on a rock, both of them opting to stay off of the ground.

They'd really hit it off, Ryua realized. She and Harry fit well together, but with Draco, it was like he'd found the perfect fit for a friend. They had so many similar qualities, being twins, but Draco was easier to get along with, once you were on the same side. Harry was just as obviously enjoying having Draco getting along with him for a change, rather than constantly fighting. Rivals were fun, but friendly rivals were much better.

"How big will you be when you manage to change all the way?" Harry asked curiously.

"About the size of a small horse, probably. Height wise anyway," she said, thinking about it. "Much longer, of course, and with wings. Big enough to ride, but a quarter the size of the wild ones."

"So you ARE going with a dragon," Professor Greenbay said, coming up behind her. He was smiling, somewhere between amused and smug.

"Yeah, Voldemort could control a Basilisk or a viper," she said, shrugging. "So dragon it is. Freedom is always good."

"Plus you can fly! And set fire to the Potions classroom!" Ron piped up, laughing.

Card's smirk stayed in place as the group discussed the various pros and cons of being able to turn into a dragon at will. Ryua kept drifting in and out of attention, getting distracted by something she couldn't pinpoint, but it was in a lazy, cheerful sort of way. It was just so wonderful to stay outside, with the sun and the fresh, clean taste of the air...

All too soon, they had to go back in, when afternoon classes started up. _No rush... Take your time..._ Ryua's mind seemed to whisper softly to her as the rest of the group kept going ahead. It was DADA after all... and with the teacher right behind her, she could hardly be late. And Card didn't seem to be in a rush either.

In fact, the others had already entered the castle and gone by the time they were approaching the gates. There was a gentle touch on her lower back, and Card whispered in her ear, "I'm glad you didn't go with snake." She shivered. His touch felt somehow different this time... it hadn't affected her like this before, and she'd been dancing with him. Dancing a Tango, no less. He split off, heading for the staff room, and Ryua gave herself a shake, heading up to the DADA classroom to meet up with everyone else.

It wasn't until she'd sat down and Card had arrived that she realized he hadn't spoken in English.

"Hermione... Are there other like... species of Parselmouths?" she asked, during Arithmancy later that afternoon.

"Other species?" she echoed curiously. "Like... merpeople?"

"No, humans, but for... d-dogs or something," she said, not quite stumbling over the word dragon.

Being Hermione, she caught the slip and raised an eyebrow, but didn't remark on it right away. "Not that I know of. Parselmouths are exceedingly rare... I've never even heard of someone who could talk to other animals. Not without a spell or something, of course. Why do you ask?"

"Oh... no reason," she said, shrugging. "Just curious."

"Riiight..." Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I believe that."

Ryua sighed. "Alright... earlier, Card said something to me... and he didn't say it in English. And I know he's not a Parselmouth, but it kind of sounded the same way. Only different... nicer. I liked the way it sounded." she realized. Not to mention the very nice tingles his hand had sent through her.

"You think he's a... that there's a dragon language?" she asked, sounding vaguely intrigued, if a little skeptical. "I don't know. I've never heard of it."

"Me either... but his clan has lived seperate from the rest of the world for ages. Maybe there is such a thing..."

"Sounds like that could be kinda fun," Hermoine said, her cheeks a little pink, and her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Ryua stifled a giggle. "Hermione! He's a teacher, he wouldn't be flirting. Let alone flirting in some language I can't ignore a request in..."

"Uh huh. Sure... You might think there's nothing between you two, but I see the chemistry," Hermione said, giggling slightly.

"There is not," Ryua said, rolling her eyes, ignoring the way her mind pulled up one memory after another of that teacher.

"Is too. Although it's not like you don't have plenty to occupy your evenings with."

"Hey!"

_Author's Note: If you think this chapter is familiar, that's because it is. I'd just posted in the wrong place, so now I've pulled it out, rewrote it with updated content, and stuck it where it should be. _

_Also, is anyone intrigued by the idea of a threesome while they're all three being experimental?  
_


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